"The only ones who wouldn’t aren’t patriotic" - Stubbs defends players for not competing at Davis Cup after numerous stars skipped event

Rennae Stubbs shut down rumours that players would rather play in exhibitions than represent their country on the world stage. This is in the wake of many big stars missing out on the Davis Cup Finals in Bologna, in which Italy defeated Spain to win a third title on the spin.

They managed to complete this without the help of their four-time Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner. While the world number two did not compete, Stubbs was not too harsh on him. "Italy wins their third Davis Cup in a row, and they did it without Jannik Sinner. Everyone was upset at him for not playing, but the guy just had a long year, he won the last tournament of the year, he’s exhausted. He’s playing golf — let him go to the Maldives," she said on the Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast.

The former doubles number one also shouted put the hugely impressive Matteo Berrettini. The former Wimbledon finalist won all of his matches in the competition without dropping a set in an imperious showing. "He had several years of injuries after being 'the guy' — Wimbledon finals, pushing the greats to five sets. People thought he could win a major. Then injuries came one after another, and suddenly the Italian depth — Cobolli, Bolelli, Sinner, Musetti — pushed him out of the spotlight."

Stubbs admitted that the time frame between Davis Cups should be longer than just one year. "It should be every two years, like the Ryder Cup. Make it special," she stated. "Players are exhausted. It's November. They have to fly to Australia at the end of December — no turnaround."

Her co-host, Caitlin Thompson, took a step further on this matter. "I’d go further. Make it like the World Cup or the Olympics. Less frequent, more meaningful," she said. "If you keep it in late November, you must give it special status to justify its place on the calendar. We need better storytelling, clearer stakes. And tennis leaders are finally understanding that in a world without guaranteed fan attention, every major event must have a purpose."

One of the reasons was the depleting number of views it has started to receive. But the Aussie had a plan of this: get a big broadcaster to buy the rights for it. "Put it on a bigger network. Tennis Channel has it, but imagine NBC. Bigger audience, bigger money," she adamantly said. "Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup prove it — players fight to get on those teams. If Davis Cup was less frequent and more special, it would mean more to the players too."

"Yes. Every single player wants to play Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup, or the Olympics," Stubbs cleared up. This was brought up due to the number of players who skipped the Davis Cup. This ranges from Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti. "The only ones who wouldn’t aren’t patriotic. But players won’t risk their livelihoods if they’re injured or exhausted," she said.

A lot of people believe the reason for this is due to exhibitions. While many players will be partaking this lucrative route, Stubbs has firmly ruled this out as an excuse not to represent their country.

"And for people complaining that Alcaraz is playing an exhibition — trust me, he won’t hit a single ball between the last point he played against Sinner and the start of that exhibition," Stubbs confessed. "Exhibitions don’t matter. He’ll play fine because great players can pick up a racquet after two weeks and still play."

She went on to explain why they compete at these tournaments. "Exhibitions don’t cause nerves, they don’t cause cramping, they don’t risk injury. They don’t matter. And the player gets paid. The larger point: tennis needs fewer events, more meaningful events, better narratives, better marketing. The ITF is competing for relevance — fans, media rights, ticket sales. The product on court is great, but everything around it needs to be better."