Jannik: “With this schedule, it’s difficult to have the best players from each country every year.” Carlos: “The players would be more committed.” The current three-year cycle of the Final 8 in Bologna will end in 2027.

Andrea Gaudenzi: “In an ideal world, I think the Davis Cup could take place over two years. As far as I know, there is no sports World Cup that takes place every year.” Carlos Alcaraz: “I think playing every year is not as good as it could be if we played every two or three years. In that case, the players’ commitment would be even greater. They have to do something to make the Davis Cup unique.“ Jannik Sinner: ”I would like the Davis Cup to be held every two years. With this schedule, it’s difficult for the best players from each country to be there every year.” Within a few hours, the ATP president, the world number 1 and number 2, from the same stage in the Inalpi Arena press room, made similar comments about the competition between nations, which has lost some of its appeal in a sport that gives more weight to individual trophies (Slams in particular).

If two clues are proof, the feeling is that pressure is mounting from players, who are already complaining about the busy and grueling schedule of the professional circuit. Sinner’s arguments, however, were not limited to the biennial nature of the event: “It would also be nice to be able to choose, flip a coin, or whatever, and play in this or that stadium, selling tickets. Unfortunately, I’ve never played in the real Davis Cup, the away one, in Argentina or Brazil, where the whole stadium is not against you, but for the other team. I think that’s what the Davis Cup is all about. We Italians are lucky because we can play here. At the same time, Australia may play the United States next year, perhaps in Bologna: it wouldn’t feel the same as playing at home for either team.”

Choices—  Alcaraz will lead Spain in next week’s finals in Bologna, where neither Sinner nor Musetti will be playing. However, it should be remembered that Carlos skipped the Davis Cup for the whole of 2023 and, this year, he withdrew from the qualifying matches in September after his triumph at the US Open: without him, the Spanish team risked elimination against Denmark. Jannik, for his part, was instrumental in Italy’s successes in 2023 and 2024 and has decided to take a break from the Davis Cup this year. The event falls under the auspices of the ITF: any changes to the format can only be decided by the International Tennis Federation, which has assigned the FITP the organization of the Final 8 until 2027. The first edition of the three-year cycle will take place in Bologna, which is also set to host the Davis Cup in the following two years.