Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland complained about the empty seats during the Davis Cup clash between France and Switzerland in Manchester. And Wawrinka made fun of the sparse turnout for the match in Manchester after Switzerland to France on X (formerly known as Twitter) tagging Pique. The tournament’s format was recently altered after the ITF joined Kosmos, a sports multimedia company founded by Gerard Pique.
The event’s attendance was so low that the world No. 40 tweeted: “Thank you Gerard Pique and ITF! France vs. Switzerland in Manchester.” He included an angry face emoji in his tweet as well.
Thank you @3gerardpique @ITFTennis 🤬🤦🏻♂️! @DavisCup France vs Switzerland in Manchester lol pic.twitter.com/XqcqSQEURd
— Stanislas Wawrinka (@stanwawrinka) September 12, 2023
Both the players engaged in a long thread of conversation on X. And Pique was quick to bite back at the Swiss player’s jab and replied by commenting that they (Kosmos) don’t organize the event anymore. And that Wawrinka should contact the ITF for the same. He concluded by wishing luck to the Swiss.
We still don’t know… let’s see what the judge says. Good luck the rest of the week.
— Gerard Piqué (@3gerardpique) September 12, 2023
However, Stan replied with a meme of Ricky Gervais, a comedian, who hosted the 2020 Golden Globes. He quoted the comedian, “I know he’s your friend, but I don’t care.”
— Stanislas Wawrinka (@stanwawrinka) September 12, 2023
Pique’s role in the competition may have ended, but his influence is still felt. The elimination of “home” and “away” games in favor of holding all matches at one central location was one of the modifications made during his administration. The decision, however, seems to have backfired, as evidenced by the lower turnout from supporters of the nations competing on neutral ground.
Kosmos has essentially damaged the charm of the Davis Cup
It’s no secret that the once-famous men’s team tournament is currently losing momentum. Back in 2019, ITF and Kosmos agreed to a 25-year contract in an effort to improve the event’s audience experience. It didn’t appear to work out, though. And it is no longer one of the most renowned tennis competitions, having slipped in the rankings.
The Davis Cup, up until Kosmos, was a knockout team event that took place in home and away matches over the course of the year in a best-of-five format. However, Kosmos has now reduced the ties to three best-of-three games, each of which will take place on a single day. And this has created more issues than it has resolved.
As Wawrinka demonstrated, only a few people watch neutral team matches and they run late because they have to fit three matches into one day. Earlier, everything was set up for the supporters’ enjoyment and it created a partisan environment that was unmatched by the Kosmos format.
The International Tennis Federation has issued the following statement: pic.twitter.com/Q1uSUCTV5g
— ITF Media (@ITFMedia) January 12, 2023
The ITF decided to terminate the contract because they were clearly unhappy with how their event was going. The International Tennis Federation cut ties in January, only five years after agreeing to a 25-year contract with the Pique-led Kosmos Group. This may have put Pique’s personal life in jeopardy as he has been facing backlash from all sides after his messy split with famous singer Shakira.
The Davis Cup, however, has endured numerous adversities in its more than 120-year-long history. And hopefully, this conflict will also end up being just a small detour. The famous tournament will undoubtedly last for a very long time, whether it reverts to the previous format or not.
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