The next ITF elections will take place in Cancun, Mexico in September 2023. And David Haggerty, in place for seven years, appears weakened when it comes to running for a third and final term.
If he had been re-elected in the first round at the ITF general assembly in 2019, the American has not taken care of his popularity since and is no longer unanimous in the small world of tennis.
To discover
Davis Cup: Schedule and results
He has just suffered a new big snub.
The member associations of the International Tennis Federation voted against its project to recover the governance of international padel (FIP), which has been developing its discipline for 31 years, on Monday November 14 during the annual general assembly of the ITF which takes place held in Glasgow.
Read alsoArnaud di Pasquale: "Roland-Garros is an exceptional showcase for the development of padel"
The national federations members of the ITF thus voted by majority against.
Like France.
Luigi Carraro, president of the International Padel Federation, did not hide his relief: "
It's a victory for the independence and integrity of sport, for our players, for padel fans, and for all institutions across the world of sport that promote and protect the independence of other sporting bodies.
We thank all the national tennis federations who challenged their own international federation and brought their voice in favor of padel.
»
In France, the FFT coordinates the practice of padel in close collaboration with the FIP.
"
I ask the ITF to focus only on tennis and to improve the Davis Cup
", tweeted Gilles Moretton, president of the FFT.
A very clear tackle to the president of the ITF more than ever weakened.
Responsible for the drastic reforms of the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup, Haggerty suffered a new failure with this failed attempt to recover the padel in the bosom of the ITF.
And as the final phase of the Davis Cup begins today in Malaga, criticism is flourishing more than ever on the centenary event - which since 2019 and the arrival of the Kosmos group of ex-footballer Gerard Pique - does not don't stop groping.
For the International Federation (ITF), in financial difficulty, the millions promised by Kosmos had been an unexpected windfall.
Pique's group had offered a total prize pool estimated at 22 million euros for the first edition.
The winning country receiving four times more (2.1 million euros) than in the old formula.
Due, in particular, to the pandemic, the prize money fell in 2021 and in 2022, the economic model of the event remains fragile, even if Rakuten, the e-commerce giant and title partner of the first two editions, finally continued the 'adventure.
But, concerning TV rights, the sinews of war is more than ever vague.
The big chains are not rushing to highlight this new Davis Cup which has lost its luster and which should be played in front of almost empty stands in Malaga in the absence of the stars.
Only two members of the top 10 are present this week.
Not enough, a priori, to restore the image of the strong man of the international body of the little yellow ball....
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/QBSSQ66KCFFXBL3YKQFJWDNTJI.jpg)
