ITF Press Release, August 10, 2018

The ITF today announced the key items on the agenda at the 2018 ITF Conference and AGM in Orlando, Florida on 13-16 August.

As part of the Conference’s theme of ‘Delivering tennis for future generations’, the ITF will host a series of workshops, meetings and panel discussions aimed at communicating its ITF2024 strategic priorities.

Tuesday 14 August will see ITF President David Haggerty formally open the 2018 ITF Conference, before a Gender Equality Discussion panel with members of the ITF’s Women in Sport Committee and WTA Chief Executive Steve Simon, who will talk about how tennis can become an equal advantage sport in all areas of the game.

In addition, delegates from nations will be invited to attend interactive workshops which will include education on how the new ITF Rating project can support National Associations to increase tennis participation in their countries. The day will also include an overview of the ITF Board’s proposed governance reforms – a cornerstone of ITF2024 – that nations will have the opportunity to vote on during the AGM.

On Wednesday 15 August, representatives from several ITF departments will provide information on the projects being carried out in line with its strategic objectives. This will include a Q&A session on the ITF’s Development strategy, an update on the ITF’s financial performance and player pathway project, and an overview of the work being done to shape the future of Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas.

The proposed changes to the format of Davis Cup by BNP Paribas forms part of the list of reforms that will be put to vote by its member nations at the AGM on Thursday 16 August. The format changes to Davis Cup that nations will vote on, to take effect from 2019, include:

• The creation of an annual season-ending Davis Cup Finals event in a world class European location to crown the world champions.
• The creation of a new 24-team home and away qualifying event played in February, with the winning nations through to the Finals and the losing nations competing in Zone Group action.
• An 18-team Finals, featuring 12 qualifiers, the previous year’s four semifinalists and two wild card nations. They will consist of six round-robin groups of three teams followed by quarterfinals, semifinals and the final.
• The six group winners plus two second-placed teams with the best records based on sets won and games won will qualify for the quarterfinals.
• The teams placed 17th and 18th will be immediately relegated to the Zone Groups, while the 12 teams placed from 16th to 5th will play in the following year’s qualifier event.
• Ties contested at the Finals will consist of two singles matches and one doubles match, all played on one day. Ties contested in the qualifying event and in Zone Groups I and II will consist of four singles matches and one doubles match, played over two days.
• Singles matches at all levels of the competition will be best-of-three tiebreak sets. Doubles matches at all levels of the competition will be best-of-three tiebreak sets with regular ad scoring.

ITF President David Haggerty said: “These are exciting times for the ITF as we continue to work towards ITF2024 through a variety of new projects, the benefits of which will be demonstrated to our member nations at the Conference and AGM. We are committed to delivering tennis for future generations, and this year’s proposed reforms, including the introduction of a transformative Davis Cup Finals event, are key to ensuring that the ITF and its member nations will guarantee a bright future for the sport.”   

Other resolutions that nations will vote on include administrative amendments to the Regulations of Davis Cup and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas, governance reforms and awards for services to the game.