Davis Cup broke up with Gerard Piqué – Sport – Kommersant

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has announced the end of its partnership with Kosmos, which has been its key partner in hosting the main team tennis tournament, the Davis Cup, since 2019. The reasons for the gap lie in the financial plane. The company, owned by former footballer Gerard Piqué, has been unable to reach an understanding with the ITF on a $40 million annual investment cut.

The end of the partnership between the ITF and Kosmos, which is owned by former Spain and Barcelona defender Gerard Pique, was revealed in a brief press releaseissued by the federation. In it, the agreement with Kosmos, concluded in 2018, is characterized by a lucrative deal that has increased both the prize pool of the Davis Cup and the interest in the tournament.

In addition, it follows from the document that the ITF is provided with financial resources in case of unforeseen circumstances and in 2023 the Davis Cup, including its final stage in Malaga with the participation of the eight strongest teams, will be held in full.

Recallthat the ITF contract with Kosmos was the main financial mechanism that allowed for the reform of the Davis Cup, whose formula in 2019 has changed dramatically. The proposals, formulated a few months earlier by ITF President American David Haggerty, caused a mixed reaction in the tennis world. Nevertheless, under the guarantees of Kosmos, which promised to invest $ 3 billion in the Davis Cup over 25 years, the ITF General Assembly decided to radically change the tournament formula. At the same time, its prize fund increased sharply, of which $10 million was allocated to players and $5 million to national federations.

In the end, however, the calculations of the Kosmos management did not materialize. If in 2019, according to the Spanish edition 2Playbookthe company’s payments to the ITF budget amounted to $40.3 million, then in 2020, when the final part of the tournament could not be held due to coronavirus restrictions, this amount, under an agreement with the ITF, decreased to $10.2 million. In 2021, the contribution of Kosmos was $19 .7 million, and in 2022 – €32 million, including prize money.

During the pandemic, the ITF agreed to a reduction in Kosmos’ annual contributions from an initial amount of €40 million, but at present, no agreement has been reached on this issue, which has led to an early termination of cooperation.

Meanwhile, Kosmos’ income as operator of the Davis Cup for four years is no more than €20 million, that is, only a third of the money that the company spent on the tournament. It is obvious that Gerard Pique, who proposed a very ambitious plan, somewhat overestimated his capabilities and the possibilities of the market. True, the company’s entry into the tennis market can be considered an indirect bonus of cooperation with the ITF for Kosmos. Several leading players signed contracts with her, including Austrian Dominik Thiem, Russians Andrey Rublev and Daria Kasatkina, Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, Croatian Borna Coric. Moreover, Kosmos is not going to leave the tennis business.

For the ITF, the 2018 deal can generally be considered super successful. Apparently, it is also impossible to talk about the failure of the idea of ​​reforming the Davis Cup. “Over the past few years, the development of the famous tournament with a rich history has been given new momentum. A new draw formula was tested, while the ITF retained full control over the Davis Cup, which raised questions among skeptics,” said Alexei Selivanenko, a member of the ITF Board of Directors.

Evgeny Fedyakov