When tennis turns into football The Davis Cup wants to become the equivalent of the World Cup
There’s a moment every year when tennis sheds its traditionally aristocratic aura and transforms into something far closer to a true team sport, like football. That moment is the Davis Cup—the national-team competition often described as the World Cup of Tennis. And in this setting, even the crowd takes on a different energy. Tennis spectators are never completely neutral, but depending on the venue and who’s on court, they choose their favorite. At the 2025 editions of Roland Garros and the US Open, for example, most fans rooted for Carlos Alcaraz, while at Wimbledon the Centre Court faithful seemed to lean towards Jannik Sinner—a feeling that reached its peak during the ATP Finals in Turin.
Why Are Coaches on the Bench?
The Davis Cup stands apart from the ATP calendar because players aren’t competing for personal glory—they’re playing for a team. This shift is instantly noticeable. The first hint is visual: athletes take the court wearing matching national colors, even if their individual sponsors provide different kits. But the most striking difference is the presence of coaches on the bench. Officially called “non-playing captains,” they are free to communicate openly with players at every changeover—something impossible on the ATP Tour, where coaching often happens in a semi-clandestine manner from the player’s box. On TV, these exchanges feel more like a conversation between a star athlete and a knowledgeable fan, enhancing the sense of collective effort.
The Fans
Fan energy is another defining element of the Davis Cup. Here, players aren’t just competing—they’re representing their country. That national pride translates into louder chants, celebrations, and raw emotion, creating an atmosphere rarely seen at regular ATP or WTA tournaments. However, the current format—with the Final 8 played in a single host city—means only one team truly benefits from home-court advantage. This structure stems from the 2019 overhaul led by Kosmos Holding, the investment group founded by Gerard Piqué, which shifted away from the traditional home-and-away ties. Previously, each round was played on a different surface in a different country, and that created unique, high-intensity environments. Many fans still miss that.
How Could the Davis Cup Evolve?
The move to a single location for the final stage marked a historic turning point for the Davis Cup. It helped streamline what had once been a demanding, season-long competition into a compact, high-impact event. The ambition was clear: create a tennis tournament with the prestige and global appeal of a World Cup. But that transformation is still incomplete. Younger fans tend to view it as just another tournament, while older generations long for the classic format and often see the modern version as little more than an exhibition. Even players struggle to embrace it fully, partly because it offers no ATP points and falls at the end of a grueling season with almost no rest. For this reason, many top players are advocating for a new structure—keeping the Final 8 but staging it every two or three years. The goal is to build anticipation and give the competition the emotional weight of events like the Olympic Games.
