Feliciano Lopez states what ‘the main problem’ with tennis is right now as statement on Davis Cup called out as false

Follow us on Google Discover

Feliciano Lopez has dismissed criticism of the Davis Cup after overseeing things once again at the Finals in Bologna.

Since officially retiring from tennis in 2023, Lopez has been the tournament director of the Madrid Open and the Davis Cup Finals.

The Davis Cup has received a lot of backlash for its changes in recent years, but they have made some amendments in 2025.

Despite this, both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner were absent from the Davis Cup Finals, and Lopez has responded to questions about potentially more changes in the future.

Feliciano Lopez calls out issue in tennis in defence of the Davis Cup

Less than two weeks ago, ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi suggested the Davis Cup should be every two years.

This was a big topic in the press conference ahead of the final between Italy and Spain, which involved Davis Cup Finals tournament director Lopez, alongside ITF President David Haggerty and ITF CEO Ross Hutchins.

One of the questions relating to this issue asked if they would consider changing the Davis Cup Finals to every two years following comments made by Alcaraz and Sinner about the event.

Haggerty began the response by disagreeing with the idea of having the event every two years, claiming that the Davis Cup Finals have proved how much the competition still means to players.

“Davis Cup has been, is and always will be, a team competition,” said Haggerty. “It’s representing your nation and playing for your country.

“I politely disagree. I think I’ve seen a lot of emotion this week with players after their matches, during their matches, emotion that you don’t see every week. I think that that’s really important.

“There’s this false feeling out there that top players don’t represent their nation. That’s not true. Some of those top players that played in the qualifier round or the second qualifier round didn’t make it to the Finals. We had many top players that have played.

“With Jannik and Carlos, it would be nice to have them here, their teams are competing with the spirit and the strength that they provide to their teammates.

“Again, I think we can always think about the future. We’re always open to making the competition the best it can be. I think that’s reflected by the change that we made this year with the home and away in September, to strengthen the competition, to take it to more countries and have that feeling around the world.”

Lopez then commented on the situation, claiming that the issues in tennis are not related to the Davis Cup and instead the much complained about tennis calendar.

“Let me add something to that,” followed Lopez. “I think the fact that the top players are not participating in all the best tennis tournaments in the world, this is something that we all, all the tournaments throughout the year, suffer.

“The calendar is congested. There’s so many tournaments. For them to participate in all the tournaments, it’s very difficult. The Masters 1000s are also suffering this same issue where eventually either Carlos, Sinner, any other top player in the world, they’re not playing.

“This is not something related to this competition, to the Davis Cup. This is something that is happening throughout the year in most of the top tennis events in the world.

“I would not say that we are the only ones having this issue. It’s a main problem that tennis has. The fact there’s so many tournaments throughout the calendar, they have to be selective on picking where they play. Not necessarily related to Davis Cup only.”

Concluding the defence of the Davis Cup, the aforementioned Hutchins pointed out that Alcaraz had actually signed up to represent Spain at the Finals and only withdrew due to an injury he sustained at the ATP Finals.

“I would also add the one point, because I agree with both Feli and Dave. Carlos was here,” said Hutchins. “He was very, very keen to play. What a season him and Jannik and many others have had, but especially those two. He was here, keen to play. Got injured in the Finals of the Nitto ATP Finals.

“That is a real shame for him. Jannik, what a competitor the last couple of years, two-time defending champion, playing in every possible tie.

“Of course, we value players’ opinions highly. Feli and myself speak to a lot of the players in all areas. We are listening to a lot of opinions of the players, but we also speak to a lot of players here who value this competitions as the priority of their whole year.

“As Dave said, a lot of the top players unfortunately didn’t progress from their ties in September and February this year, which had a strong participation.

“Very open to the discussion. Really value players’ input. As Feli said, it’s a wider tennis conversation around this. That’s why we are involved with the Grand Slams and the ATP and the different parties here who do understand tennis and want the best outcome for the sport of tennis overall.”

Feliciano Lopez reveals what players have been saying about the changes the Davis Cup have made this year

As previously mentioned, the Davis Cup made a big change earlier this year to introduce more home-and-away ties, instead of having the Group Stages.

When speaking about this, Lopez revealed that both players and captains had spoken to him about how pleased they were with this change.

“I think it’s fair to say we came to this point of playing two times home and away through the year, the Final 8, after five years of conversations with players, captains, federations,” said the former world number 12.

“I think we are now in the right place, considering the amount of tournaments that we have throughout the year. As I said, it’s a fair format considering tennis nowadays. This is my opinion.

“I think we included another time another home and away tie throughout the year, which is great. That was really appreciated from players and captains and federations. This is what they wanted. They wanted to add another one throughout the year.

“I think the Final 8 is a format that in Malaga was really working. I see that this is going to be the continuation. This is a very traditional tennis country, Italy, that also lives the best moment in its history. I think we are in the right place honestly.

“As Dave said before, we’re going to keep talking to everyone, to all the parties involved, to all the stakeholders, federations, ATP. I’m sure they’re going to be joining because we need also the ATP. We need all the parties involved to succeed.

“This is where we are now. Of course, open to keep talking to everyone. But I think we are in the right place at the moment.”

Italy beat Spain to win the Davis Cup Finals once again, becoming the first nation to win the event three years in a row since USA in 1972.

The draw for the 2026 event has also been made, with Italy awaiting their next challengers in Bologna next year.