Australian tennis great Todd Woodbridge has lashed out organisers of the Davis Cup, saying the tournament could disappear within five years.
Woodbridge believes the event has been ‘wrecked’ and said top players players are to blame for the money-driven call to move the event to Abu Dhabi.
The Davis Cup has always relied on a home-and-away format, with large partisan crowds, but the vent is now to Abu Dhabi after a $3 billion, 25-year deal between the International Tennis Federation and Kosmos.
And Woodbridge is also critical of the December time slot for the tournament – a time of year where players traditionally take a break and prepare for the first Open of the new year in Australia.
“What player in their right mind is going to go to Abu Dhabi and give themselves two weeks off before starting the new season?” Woodbridge told Sydney’s 2GB radio.
“There will be no off-season, there will be no time to prepare.
“The people that are making these decisions really need to take a look at themselves, because this event, I think, won’t be with us in five years’ time.”
He then added: “Should (the ITF administrators) still be there? That’s the question.
“I think that if you’ve wrecked the most historic competition in the game you probably have to resign and move on.”
But former Aussie Davis Cup player San Groth, also on the radio show, defended the decision to move the tournament.
“There is a lot of interest to bring Davis Cup or any other big tennis competition or sports competition to the Middle East,” he said.
“Economically they’re very strong and they can finance the big demands that you have for an organisation of such an important event.
“Now, the question is whether you follow the money, so to say, or you follow the tradition, or you find a balance between the two.
“That’s always the big question on anybody’s mind. Of course, there are a lot of differences. People think one way or another … I’m somewhere in between.”
