The most radical overhaul in the 118-year history of the Davis Cup could be given the green light tomorrow as the tennis world gathers in Florida to vote on sweeping reforms which have divided the sport.
Around 120 delegates at the International Tennis Federation's annual meeting in Orlando will decide whether proposals by federation chief David Haggerty are to be given the go-ahead.
Haggerty's plan will see the Davis Cup's sprawling existing format, stretched across the calendar year and played in all corners of the globe, condensed into a season-ending 18-nation event played at a single, neutral venue.
Haggerty told AFP in a conference call on Tuesday that the overhaul would boost the ITF's ability to spread development funding across the globe, pumping around $25 million back into the sport.
"The ITF is the only organisation that puts money into the development of the game," Haggerty said.
"And that's what this project enables us to do. The money that we make will be put back to the nations for their development programs and the future of tennis."
- 'Death of Davis Cup' -
========================
Newcombe, a five-time champion as a player, described the overhaul as "a recipe for the death of the Davis Cup as we know it."
"Having more resources to put behind the development of tennis is the most important thing for an international federation."
"You play one year, and then the next year you don't play. It's just the scheduling of this kind of format so far has been pretty bad."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content