LONDON : The International Tennis Federation has settled its dispute with investment group Kosmos after their Davis Cup partnership was abruptly terminated in 2023.
“Kosmos and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) have reached an amicable resolution regarding their previous contractual disagreements related to the organisation of the Davis Cup,” the ITF said in a statement on Thursday.
Owned by former Barcelona soccer player Gerard Pique, Kosmos signed a 25-year deal worth $3 billion to co-run the men’s Davis Cup team competition in 2018.
At the time the ITF said the deal would safeguard the historic Davis Cup competition and allow them to invest in all levels of the sport and “deliver long-term benefits for players, nations, fans, sponsors and broadcasters”.
The controversial revamp of the Davis Cup, including the ditching of the traditional ‘home and away’ knockout rounds, was launched in 2019 to much fanfare with 18 nations competing in “The Finals” in Madrid, dubbed the World Cup of tennis.
After the 2020 edition was cancelled because of the pandemic, it returned in 2021 with three cities hosting the finals and the format was changed again in 2022.
In January 2023, the ITF announced it had ended the deal saying that ‘financial contingencies’ were in place for its team event that began in 1900.
Kosmos then filed a lawsuit at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) accusing the ITF of an ‘unjustified termination’ of the contract and claiming damages.
