ITF

ITFWorld // SUMMER 2018 09 The first test of this will be the maiden edition of the new tournament, which will take place from 18-24 November 2019 in either Madrid or Lille, and will see 18 nations compete in a week-long season finale to be crowned Davis Cup winners (please see page 11 for an infographic outlining the tournament's new format). An integral and much-loved element of the Davis Cup's unique 118-year history will remain, however, as 24 teams will take part in home and away matches during a qualifying round in February. The 12 winners of those clashes will secure a direct place in what will be known as The Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Finals and will join the four semifinalists from the previous year, who qualify without playing in February, and two wildcards that will be announced before the qualifying round draw. The Finals will be staged in a round-robin format from Monday to Thursday, with the countries divided into six groups and each qualifying round consisting of three best- of-three-sets matches – two singles and one doubles. The top-placed teams from each group and the two best runners-up will reach the Friday quarterfinals, while the semifinals and final will take place on the Saturday and Sunday respectively. Conversely, the two worst qualified teams placed (17th and 18th) from the round-robin stage will be relegated to the Zone Groups for the following year and the rest of the nations that failed to qualify for the semifinals will have to participate in February's qualifying round. Pique, who is the President and Founder of Kosmos, said: "We are convinced that the agreement ratified by the nations guarantees the future of the Davis Cup and the development of tennis at all levels. "I would like to thank ITF President David Haggerty, the ITF Board of Directors and the entire team of ITF professionals for their work with Kosmos over the past few months and welcome a new stage in which we will continue to evolve together. "I would also like to congratulate all those who, with their votes, have embraced this change and have seen the momentous decision that was in their hands. "This is the beginning of a new stage that guarantees the pre-eminent and legitimate place that the Davis Cup should have as a competition. "It is a great honour for me to be part of this historic process in a sport that I am passionate about. Without doubt, in both personal and professional terms, this is one of the happiest moments of my life." Zone Groups I and II will be divided into six Europe/ Africa ties, three Americas ties and three Asia/Oceania ties. All Zone Group I ties will be played in September, while nations in Zone Group II will have the choice of contesting their ties in either April or September. The format will remain unchanged from the trials that were introduced in 2018, with the ties being made up of four singles matches and one doubles match contested over the space of two days. The 12 Zone Group I winners will advance to the following year's Finals qualifying events, while the 12 Zone Group I losers will contest Zone Group II action the following year. Although the overhaul of the Davis Cup dominated the AGM, which was hosted by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) under its President Katrina Adams, it was by no means the only topic on the roster for discussion. As part of the conference's theme of 'Delivering Tennis for Future Generations', there were a series of workshops, meetings and panel discussions designed to communicate the ITF2024 strategy and other priorities. ABOVE: The AGM in full swing "Tennis is better for everyone when we all get an equal opportunity to play, compete and lead in the game we all love." K A T R I N A A D A M S Homeira Kavan of Iran and Tunisia's Salma Mouelhi Guizani during a panel discussion on gender equality ➝

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