Andy Murray has slammed the controversial Davis Cup format, revealing that not one person on the ATP player council supported the changes.

Former World No. 1 Murray has added his voice to those criticizing the format of the tournament since changes were implemented back in 2019. At that time, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) signed a 25-year deal with Kosmos to form a $3 billion partnership.

As a result of this, the Cup underwent some big changes. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic, the deal between the ITF and Kosmos collapsed - but the format has not been reversed or evolved in another direction.

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Murray calls out empty stadiums

Murray played on home soil this week as part of Great Britain's team in the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage, held at the AO Arena in Manchester from September 12-17. While he said the atmosphere there was 'brilliant', he expressed his sadness that this was not the case at all of the group-stage tournaments going on around Europe.

"We’re fortunate here [in Manchester] because we get to play all the matches in front of a brilliant atmosphere and a great crowd. It is a shame when France and Australia, two of the biggest tennis nations who love the Davis Cup, are playing in what feels like an empty stadium. It’s a 10,000-seater arena and when it’s empty, it feels wrong," he said.

The 36-year-old went on to talk about the format changes, recalling how nobody had supported the idea when it was first revealed.

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"I was on the ATP player council when the initial discussions were had about this format. Not one person on the council supported it. We told David Haggerty [the ITF president] and the ITF. We were told that would be taken into consideration and, literally two days later, it was announced that they were changing the format," he explained.

Murray also added that the format may need to change again in order for the competition to survive.

"The format will have to change if it’s going to be successful again. All the players love the home and away ties, I haven’t heard any player who says that they don’t. The fans love the home and away ties as well. Hopefully there’s a way we can get it back to that," he said.

Murray helped his team win their head-to-head against France to ensure their place as one of the top two teams in Group B, ensuring qualification alongside Australia.

Eleanor Crooks

@EleanorcrooksPA

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A 13,000 sell-out in Manchester today, the biggest single day attendance for Davis Cup in the UK.

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