ITF finishes Davis Cup partnership with Pique’s Kosmos expenditure team

Jan 12 (Reuters) – The Global Tennis Federation declared on Thursday that it was ending its Davis Cup partnership with Gerard Pique’s investment team Kosmos just five several years into a 25-calendar year, $3 billion settlement.

In 2018, the ITF experienced unveiled the offer with former Barcelona soccer player Pique’s financial investment team, which experienced promised to devote $120 million per 12 months, amid a lot fanfare.

The ITF experienced claimed at the time that the package to revamp the Davis Cup opposition would safeguard the upcoming of the sport as it would “deliver prolonged-time period added benefits for gamers, nations, fans, sponsors and broadcasters”.

Even so, less than five years later on the offer — which also had the backing of Wimbledon, French and U.S. Open officials — has ended.

“The ITF can verify that its partnership with Kosmos Tennis for Davis Cup is ending in its fifth 12 months,” the ITF explained in a statement.

“The ITF negotiated a robust deal for tennis in 2018. The partnership improved participation, prize revenue and curiosity in Davis Cup and generated funding to help the international growth of our sport.”

Kosmos could not be reached for remark when contacted by Reuters.

The agreement with Kosmos experienced led to the revamp of the men’s staff competitors, which was started in 1900.

The common home-and-absent ties played more than a few weekends for the duration of the class of the calendar year were being scrapped.

That structure was replaced in 2019 with just one particular dwelling-and-absent round of ties that was adopted by 18-teams competing in a person city for a 7 days-long climax to the year.

Regardless of the offer with Kosmos being terminated, the governing system of tennis added: “The ITF has ensured financial contingencies are in area and as the custodian of the opposition we will operate the 2023 Qualifiers and Finals as scheduled, with the Last 8 getting position in Malaga, Spain, this November.

“As very well as being focused on providing yet another impressive version of the men’s Planet Cup of Tennis, we are concentrated on the long term expansion of the major yearly global team level of competition in sport.”

Following the 2020 version was postponed for the reason that of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 finale was held across 11 days in a few metropolitan areas — Madrid, Turin and Innsbruck.

The structure was tweaked once again final 12 months, when teams competed in a team stage in September, with the top rated 8 advancing to the finals.

Reporting by Pritha Sarkar, further reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk, enhancing by Ed Osmond

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