ITF Press Release, June 15, 2023
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has announced that Feliciano Lopez has been appointed as Tournament Director for the 2023 Davis Cup Finals.
The 41-year-old, who has won the competition with Spain on four separate occasions, will lead the delivery of the 2023 Davis Cup Finals Group Stage (12-17 September) and the Final 8 in Malaga (21-26 November).
The Group Stage will take place across four events in Bologna, Manchester, Valencia and Croatia (host city TBC). Four teams will play in a round-robin format at each event, with the top two teams in each group progressing to the Final 8.
Feliciano Lopez said: “It is a great honour to become Davis Cup Finals Tournament Director and I thank the ITF for appointing me. I have some special memories of playing in this competition so I am very happy to be taking a leading role in delivering these events. As an athlete, representing your country is the pinnacle of your career. It always meant so much to me, and you can see how much it means to every player who has competed in this competition over the years. As Tournament Director, my sole focus will be to build on the recent success of the competition and make it the best it can be for players and supporters across the world. I can’t wait to get started.”
Lopez made his Davis Cup debut for Spain in 2003 and helped his country to win the competition in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2019.
In the 2008 Final against Argentina, he beat Juan Martin Del Potro in singles and Agustin Calleri and David Nalbandian in doubles alongside Fernando Verdasco to help Spain lift the trophy for the third time.
Alongside Verdasco, Lopez clinched the decisive victory in the 2009 Final against Czechia, beating Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek in straight sets in Barcelona. He was also part of the Spain squads that claimed the titles in 2011 with victory over Argentina and in 2019 with victory over Canada.
He became Tournament Director of the Mutua Madrid Open in 2019 and assumes the Davis Cup Finals role in what he has announced will be his last season as a professional player.
David Haggerty, ITF President, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Feliciano on board and I have no doubt he will be a huge asset to the competition. He is a Davis Cup legend and embodies everything the competition is about – passion, entertainment and pride in representing your country. His playing record speaks for itself and he is adored across Spain for good reason, but he has also shown his talent as a Tournament Director in recent years and that is why we have brought him in at this stage of the competition. The ITF and Feliciano are fully aligned in our aims to continue the recent growth of this wonderful event, and his appointment builds even more excitement for the Finals Group Stage in September, and the Final 8 in November.”
Group A (Bologna)
Italy
Canada
Sweden
Chile
Group B (Manchester)
Great Britain
Australia
France
Switzerland
Group C (Valencia)
Spain
Serbia
Czechia
Korea Rep.
Group D (Croatia)
Croatia
Netherlands
USA
Finland
The Davis Cup Finals and Qualifiers are now an official part of the ATP Tour calendar, after the ITF and ATP established a new strategic collaboration on the competition’s governance in 2022..
Tickets for Group B (Manchester) and Group C (Valencia) are on sale now.
