Jannik: “With this schedule, it’s unlikely that every country’s best players will be available every year.” Carlos: “The players’ commitment would be greater.” The current three-year cycle of the Final 8 in Bologna will conclude in 2027
Andrea Gaudenzi: “In an ideal world, I think the Davis Cup could take place over a two-year span. As far as I know, there isn’t any other major sports tournament that takes place every year.” Carlos Alcaraz: “I think playing every year isn’t as good as it could be if it were played every two or three years. In that case, the players’ commitment would be even greater. They need to do something to make the Davis Cup unique.” Jannik Sinner: “I’d like the Davis Cup to take place every two years. With this schedule, it’s hard to have the best players from every country every year.” Within a few hours, the ATP president, the world No. 1, and the world No. 2, speaking from the same podium in the Inalpi Arena press room, made similar remarks about the national team competition whose appeal has faded, in a sport that places greater emphasis on individual trophies (the Grand Slams, above all).
If two clues make a proof, the feeling is that pressure is mounting more and more from the players, who are already complaining about the packed 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 matches in Argentina or Brazil—where the entire stadium isn’t against you, but for the other team. I believe that is the Davis Cup. We Italians are lucky because we can play here. At the same time, it could happen that Australia plays against the United States next year, perhaps in Bologna: you wouldn’t have the same Davis Cup feeling as when playing at one team’s home venue.”
choices— Alcaraz will lead Spain in next week’s finals in Bologna, where neither Sinner nor Musetti will be present. It should be noted, however, that Carlos skipped the Davis Cup for all of 2023 and, this year, withdrew from the September qualifying matches following his triumph at the US Open: without him, the Spaniards risked elimination against Denmark. Jannik, for his part, was a key player 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 organization of the Final 8 to the FITP through 2027. The first edition of the three-year cycle will take place in Bologna, which is set to host the Davis Cup in the following two years as well.
