‘Discussions’ to take place over Davis Cup future

Due to the absence of top players from this year’s event, organisers have confirmed discussions will be held regarding the future format of the tournament, which led to Belgium winning against France in the opening match of the Davis Cup Finals in Bologna.

The 86th-ranked Raphael Collignon fought back to defeat Frenchman Corentin Moutet 2-6 7-5 7-5, leaving team-mate Zizou Bergs with a chance to defeat Arthur Rinderknech later.

Carlos Alcaraz, the world’s number one, announced earlier on Tuesday that he had pulled from Spain’s team due to a injury he sustained on Sunday at the ATP Finals.

Alexander Zverev, from Germany, was the only top-10 men’s singles player competing in this year’s Davis Cup showpiece week.

Both Alcaraz and Sinner have voiced their support for making the Davis Cup a biannual event.

Ross Hutchins, the CEO of the International Tennis Federation (ITF), informed BBC Sport that he would consult the sport’s top players to determine how the tournament could promote their participation in the final major event of the year.

According to Hutchins, “this event has always been a very, very popular team competition over the past 125 years,” which is consistent with the format.

We are very excited about our three-year contract in Bologna. The question is: What’s right moving forward because Malaga performed exceptionally well the last few years as a season-end product with top players playing and incredible narratives.

I’m going to be having discussions about their points of view because I have very close relationships with the top players and the governing bodies.

After leading by a double break of serve and racing into a 4-0 lead, Moutet took the first set against Collignon.

The Frenchman, however, was only partially to blame when he was forced to a decider, losing his serve, and losing the second set 15-30 to Collignon for an error that did not come off, with Collignon already leaving the court.

After the Belgian had failed to take his first four break points, Collignon made a costly error by increasing the pressure in the final set, ultimately putting an end to Moutet’s resistance in the 12th game.

On Friday, the winning team will face either Italy or Austria in the semi-finals.

Spain and Germany meet in the other half of the draw, while Argentina and Argentina meet in Germany.

Following their first qualifying round defeat in February to Japan, Great Britain are not participating this week.

Leon Smith’s side defeated Poland in a September away eliminator to give themselves a chance to advance to the season-closing competition next year.

Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool, who recently won the year-end world number one, think it is crucial that Britain show they can outsmart the masses in 2026.

We’re a incredibly strong country, but sometimes we get a little hate because we have a Slam, and the LTA is financially more successful than many other federations, Cash said on BBC Sport.

Even at the Davis Cup level, we have a lot of excellent players, and I believe that the Finals is where we should be based on our current standing, both in singles and doubles. However, you must make that money annually.

The British Empire won the Davis Cup in 2015 under the direction of talisman Andy Murray, who then advanced to the semi-finals in 2019 before making quarter-final appearances in 2021 and 2023.

British No. 1 Jack Draper, who finished fourth overall in the world earlier this year, was unable to make the Japan tie.