Thursday 16 August 2018 19:53, UK
World tennis chiefs have approved a radical Davis Cup overhaul that will see the competition condensed into an 18-team week-long event.
The proposals for the men's team tournament received 71.43 per cent support from delegates of national tennis federations at the International Tennis Federation's [ITF] annual general meeting in Orlando on Thursday.
Investment group Kosmos - whose founder and president is Barcelona and Spain footballer Gerard Pique - proposed the plan, that will see £2.15bn ploughed in to back the event over 25 years.
ITF president David Haggerty said: "I am delighted that the nations have today voted to secure the long-term status of Davis Cup by BNP Paribas.
"By voting in favour of these reforms, we will be able to work with Kosmos to realise the huge potential of the competition and elevate it to new standards.
"This new event will create a true festival of tennis and entertainment which will be more attractive to players, to fans, to sponsors and to broadcasters."
Pique said: "Today is a historic day and we are convinced that the agreement ratified by the nations certainly guarantees the future of the Davis Cup and the development of tennis at all levels."
The Lawn Tennis Association, Britain's governing body, revealed on Wednesday they would vote against the revamp, which will come into effect from November 18-24, 2019.
Fellow federations Tennis Australia and the German Tennis Federation (DTB) voted against the plans but their French counterparts were in favour.
The Davis Cup, founded in 1900, featured 132 nations in 2018 with 16 nations competing in the World Group in a straight knockout, while the remaining countries are divided into three regional zones.
The matches are played in February, April, September and November at home and away venues, with all World Group ties played over a best-of-five tie of five-set matches.
The new format will involve a qualifying round in February, in which 24 teams will take part in home and away matches.
The 12 winners will secure a direct place into the final - to be staged in either Madrid or Lille - and will join the four semi-finalists of the previous year, who qualify without having to play in the qualifying round, along with two wildcards that will be announced before the draw for the qualifying round.
The season finale will be held in a round-robin format from Monday to Thursday, with the countries divided into six groups consisting of three matches - two singles and one doubles - of best-of-three sets.
The first placed teams from each group and the two best runners-up will reach the quarterfinals on Friday, while Saturday and Sunday will host the semi-finals and the final.
The two worst qualified teams from the round robin stage will be relegated to the zone groups the following year and the remaining nations that did not qualify for the semi-finals will have to participate in February's qualifying round the following season.
American billionaire Larry Ellison threw his weight behind the ITF's plans and said he hoped Indian Wells could stage the event in the future.
The ATP have announced plans to introduce a rival 24-team World Team Cup, offering $11.8m in prize money plus ranking points, into the calendar to be played in Australia from early 2020.
