ITF

encapsulated by a three-hour, three-set tussle between two of the game's most exci ng young players. Katerina Siniakova triumphed over Sofia Kenin to seal her na on's sixth tle in eight years. We returned to Lille for the third me since 2014 for the Davis Cup final – but unlike 2017, there was no joy for the home fans a er Marin Cilic and Borna Coric steered Croa a to a 3-1 victory over France and claim its second Davis Cup tle. While the on-court ac on was cap va ng, we also took steps to ensure that both compe ons remain successful in the future. We partnered with Kosmos to announce an exci ng new vision for Davis Cup. The evolu on of the compe on will feature a new Finals beginning in 2019, which will see the world's best 18 teams compete to be crowned champions. We will also maintain the event's tradi ons with a round of qualifiers and Zone Group I and II es being played on a home-and-away basis. Meanwhile, the ITF AGM authorised the Fed Cup Commi ee to look into poten al new formats for the compe on to be introduced from 2020 onwards. Investment in both Davis Cup and Fed Cup is an important factor in our efforts to reform both compe ons. Kosmos has pledged a significant financial investment in Davis Cup over 25 years, which will see prize money at the event rise to similar levels to the Grand Slam tournaments. We also doubled Fed Cup prize money for 2019 and will aim to achieve further improvements to prize money from 2020 regardless of the compe on's format. Our commercial department worked extremely hard during 2018 with our sponsors, all of which strengthen ITF revenue streams and allow us to con nue to grow the game worldwide. We remain grateful for the support of major sponsors, including BNP Paribas, Rolex, Adecco, NEC and UNIQLO, as well as other sponsors across ITF events throughout the year. Development is at the centre of the ITF2024 strategy, and much of the revenue that is generated from our events is reinvested in our development programme. For the first me, our annual development spending surpassed $10 million in 2018, with a huge number of individuals across the world benefi ng from our work – both those involved with our elite programmes, such as our training centres for talented young players in Morocco, Kenya and Fiji, and in our par cipa on programmes, which seek to maximise the number of people playing the game. We also remain indebted to the Grand Slam Development Fund (GSDF), which makes a significant contribu on to developing the game on behalf of the four Grand Slam tournaments. Our work with ITF PRESIDENT'S REVIEW OF THE YEAR / 05

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