ATP chairman proposes big change to the Davis Cup, ‘I think it would be better’

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The 2025 Davis Cup Finals are right around the corner, as one top tennis official eyes a change to the event…

In 2019, the Davis Cup format changed, scrapping home and away ties in favor of an eight-team ‘finals’ event.

The Davis Cup Finals are now played at one venue over the course of a week at the end of the season.

Between 2019 and 2024, the tournament was held in Spain, but will move to Bologna, Italy this November.

However, during a press conference at this year’s ATP Finals, ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi proposed a few radical changes to the Davis Cup, which would see the location move every year.

Andrea Gaudenzi wants home and away ties to return and to make the Davis Cup a two-year event

Gaudenzi, a former member of Italy’s Davis Cup team, had this to say about the future of the event.

“I introduced this concept that I think I already mentioned. I do really love the Davis Cup. I think it is an amazing event. I probably had the best matches in my career there. I think it’s an incredible asset for tennis. We should all come together to try to make it the World Cup for tennis,” he said.

“I think the best product is the home and away [ties]. I think the atmosphere, I’ve played one Final in Milan, probably the best memory of my career, and where I’ve been playing in different places. You go to different countries. You go to cities where we don’t take tennis with the tour.

“I’ve played a quarterfinal against the U.S, Agassi-Sampras, in Palermo. We played in Florence against Zimbabwe. I’m going to mention my experiences. I’m sure you can mention many of them.

“The federations have the opportunity to bring tennis into cities that have never seen tennis. Regardless of which players you have, even if they’re not the top players, you’re going to have a full stadium cheering for your country. That atmosphere for me is the core of our product.”

Gaudenzi understands why the format changed, but has thought up a solution that could satisfy all parties.

“Obviously, the problem at the time was playing it every year and on different surfaces caused a problem because one year we ended up playing Davis Cup against the Czech Republic in Naples. We won, and on Tuesday, I had to play in Dubai on a hard court. You go from clay to hard court, two days away, fly to Dubai, have a bye,” he said.

“I don’t know how, but I played the final that year in Dubai. It’s challenging.

“In the ideal world, I think Davis Cup could go home and away and over two years. 

“There is no World Cup in sport that happens every year, to my knowledge.

“First of all, I think it would be better for them, for the product, and also would release a lot of pressure from the calendar.”

Gaudenzi’s proposal is certainly interesting, although it’s unlikely that we will see such a radical format change take place any time soon.

After all, the Davis Cup is not an event under the ATP’s jurisdiction, and is run by the ITF [International Tennis Federation] instead.

For now, fans will have to settle for the Davis Cup Finals as it is, where the eight best national teams in tennis prepare to do battle in Bologna.

Who will take part in the 2025 Davis Cup Finals?

The following eight teams have qualified for the 2025 Davis Cup Finals.

Italy are the two-time defending champions, but will be without their star man Jannik Sinner, who has withdrawn from the finals.

The four-time Grand Slam champion will be sorely missed, although with the likes of Lorenzo Musetti in the squad, the nation will still be in with a chance of winning their third consecutive title.

Only time will tell who will emerge victorious in Bologna, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action when the 2025 Davis Cup Finals begin on Tuesday, November 18.