The International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Kosmos Tennis announced on Monday that the ITF council approved the proposal that the Davis Cup Finals be held from November 25 to December 5 in a multi-site format. in three cities: Innsbruck (Austra) and Turin (Italy) will be the two European co-venues that will host the competition together with Madrid, which remains as the headquarters. Each of the cities will host two groups and a quarterfinal, although in the case of the capital of Spain there will be two. The Madrid Arena, the new venue for the tournament instead of La Caja Mágica, will also host the semifinals and the final of the event that returns after being suspended in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Olympia-Halle will be the stadium in Innsbruck, while the chosen venue in Turin is the Pala Alpitour Arena, which will also host the ATP Finals from this year. The surface of the competition will continue to be tough. The Finals will last 11 days to improve the programming of the matches and prevent the qualifying rounds from ending after midnight as happened in 2019. When choosing the new venues, criteria of proximity, good connection and similar playing conditions were applied, in terms of altitude, weather, etc …
‘‘ It is a satisfaction for us to be able to take the Davis Cup Finals to Innsbruck and Turin. The two cities submitted impressive nominations that not only promise a world-class event but also include strict security measures to ensure the health and safety of attendees. We are already working on being able to offer the best possible event in 2021, also working hand in hand with the Community and the Madrid City Council since, thanks to their support, Madrid remains the main headquarters for this year ”, said Finals director Albert Costa.
Change of scenery due to infrastructure reasons
As AS has learned, the change of headquarters from La Caja Mágica to Madrid Arena is due solely to infrastructure reasons. With the addition of Innsbruck and Turin, only one track is necessary for the dispute of a daily tie (in principle from 4:00 p.m.) the first two days and two, in morning and afternoon sessions, in the following two of the phase of groups. While in the quarterfinals, semifinals and final you will see only one session a day. The Caja Mágica, with three clay courts that would have to be covered with a hard surface, was too big for this calendar plan. Furthermore, in the opinion of the organizers, Madrid Arena is a less cold location as it is totally closed, easier to set up in terms of restaurants, hospitality and shops with the extra of the Palacio de Cristal annex, closer to the city center and easily accessible by public transport. Both spaces are managed by the City Council, so there is no conflict of interest.
Cities and Groups
Madrid Arena, Madrid (ESP)
Group A: Spain, Russian Tennis Federation (RTF), Ecuador
Group B: Canada, Kazakhstan, Sweden
Quarter finals:
Group A winner vs best second in group
Group B winner vs best second in group.
Semifinals and Final
Olympia-Halle, Innsbruck (AUT)
Group C: France, Great Britain, Czech Rep.
Group F: Serbia, Germany, Austria
Quarter finals:
Winner Group C vs Winner Group F
Pala Alpitour Arena, Turin (ITA)
Group D: Croatia, Australia, Hungary
Group E: United States, Italy, Colombia
Quarter finals:
Winner Group D vs Winner Group E
The schedule of clashes between nations will be published by the organization of the event in the coming weeks.
For information on ticket sales in different cities, those interested should contact the following emails:
Madrid: [email protected]
Innsbruck: [email protected]
Turin: [email protected]