The International Tennis Federation (ITF) will retain the home-and-away ties in the opening stages of the revamped Davis Cup, its president David Haggerty said.
In February, the ITF announced a massive shake-up of the Davis Cup, which will see the formation of an 18-nation World Cup of Tennis finals played in one location, starting in November 2019.
Belgian tennis chief Gijs Kooken was among the critics of the ITF’s new proposal, saying that a one-week tournament in a single city would risk “killing the soul” of the historic competition but Haggerty has alleviated those fears.
“We are looking at a round of 24 home-and-away ties in February, in the week after the Australian Open, producing 12 winners,” Haggerty told the Telegraph .
“They would then go on to the November tournament, along with the four semifinalists from the previous year, and two invited teams.”
“It’s important for the national federations to be able to stage ties.
“It’s a way of promoting the sport and of connecting with fans.”
