In general meetings in Europe and Asia over the weekend, the ITF defended its current Davis and Fed Cup formats, which are in opposition to the World Cup-style, Grand Slam of Nations proposal that was floated around in January by a Melbourne-based sports marketing group.
The group had proposed a biennial 10-day male-only tournament that would be held in one location. A number of top players, including Andy Roddick and ATP Player Council member Novak Djokovic, said the idea deserved serious consideration.
But in meetings this weekend, ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti and Executive Vice President Juan Margets rallied the member tennis associations, which unanimously voted to uphold four principles as intrinsic to the future of Davis and Fed Cups. The Cups should:
1) Be played on an annual basis
2) Feature a home-and-away format
3) Be contested in association with national tennis federations
4) Conform to the Rules of Tennis
The ITF did concede in a statement that it is "always open for consultation about suggestions to improve either competition, as long as these four principles were upheld."
