Davis Cup to remain best-of-five sets

A proposal to change the format of Davis Cup singles matches to best-of-three sets has been voted down.

A series of proposed changes to the Davis and Fed Cup competitions were proposed; International Tennis Federation member nations voted on these at the ITF’s Annual General Meeting on 4 August in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

While they passed several other reforms, only 63.54 per cent of voters were in favour of the change to the scoring format.

A two-thirds majority is required to pass a reform.

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“We respect the decision of the AGM but are disappointed that our member nations have not approved the full package of Davis Cup and Fed Cup reforms endorsed by the ITF Board,” ITF president David Haggerty said.

“Change is needed to ensure the long-term future of these iconic and historic competitions, and we remain committed to working with our national associations and other stakeholders on finding ways to enhance Davis Cup and Fed Cup.”

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Other reforms passed included:

• finalists in both Davis Cup and Fed Cup will be guaranteed the choice of hosting their first-round tie in the following year
• match court availability and practice court requirements will be lower to reduce hosting costs for national associations
• Davis Cup pre-tie commitments for players will be reduced to a single function combining the draw, post-draw press conferences and interviews, and an official lunch.