Davis Cup format set for change? Jon Wertheim suggests huge shift as players complaints listened to

The Davis Cup is possibly set to be undergoing some more changes amid recent criticism from the players, including Carlos Alcaraz. A huge radical altercation in the format may occur soon for the prestigious tournament.

The format now sees eight nations qualify for a final tournament, currently located in Bologna. It begins with the quarter-finals with the last country standing being crowned the champions. Italy have dominated in recent times, having won the last three competitions with a tense triumph last year against Spain in the final where they did not lose a single match.

However, this may be set to change in the near future as tennis journalist Jon Wertheim lays out the what could be in store in the future.

He wrote on X: “Hearing World Tennis (nee ITF) is seriously exploring a return to home-and-away Davis Cup format; and going the Ryder Cup way and crowning a champ every second year. One hopes common sense (and economics) prevails and this gets put into place.”

Someone who would be overjoyed that the Davis Cup could be becoming a bi-annual event is the world number two Alcaraz. He shared his true feelings of the schedule last year ahead of him pulling out at late notice following reaching the final of the ATP Finals.

“They have to do something in this event because I think playing every year is not as good as it might be if you’re playing every two or three years,” he commented. “I think if the tournament is played like every two or every three years, the commitment of the players is going to be even more because it’s unique.”

An example that change is needed is when you look at the lineups from last year. Only one top 10 player featured in the form of Alexander Zverev who also lambasted the format, wanting the return of home and away ties.

"But don't you think it's maybe a bit sad that this kind of match and the doubles attract at most a thousand people in the stadium?" he said in his press conference during the event. "If we had played in Argentina or Germany, there might have been 15,000 people. In that respect, I find it a bit sad."

Before the tournament, he also said: “To play against Italy in Italy, it would be a completely different atmosphere than playing Italy in Spain,” Zverev mentioned. “I played against [Rafael] Nadal in a bullfighting arena in 2018. That’s for me the real Davis Cup. I don’t think this Davis Cup is the real Davis Cup. It’s an exhibition tournament in a way that is called Davis Cup.”

Whether these changes go through or not will be a telling sign. The tournament has lost its prestigious tag in recent times with players not looking at it in the same way, Regularly top players skip qualifying events and event the showpiece event to focus on themselves and their ATP Tour campaigns whether it comes down to ranking, injury or preserving their body.