Tennis dispute escalates: 10,000 kilometers of madness

German tennis stars have to travel thousands of kilometers for the Davis Cup. The absence of host China is causing additional controversy.

Zhuhai – The decision of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to hold the group stage of the Davis Cup in Zhuhai, China, has attracted considerable criticism. German tennis players face enormous logistical and physical challenges as they have to travel thousands of kilometers. It is particularly noteworthy that China, although the host, is not taking part in the tournament.

Tennis dispute escalates: 10,000 kilometers of madness

Michael Kohlmann, the team manager of the German Tennis Association (DTB), expressed his dissatisfaction bluntly: “I think that the teams that are here now all agree that it is more or less nonsense to play here.” The criticism is mainly directed at the long journey of the participating nations and the absence of Chinese tennis players, who are only third-class internationally. This leads to low audience expectations in Zhuhai.

Kohlmann continued: “We all talked about our travel routes and how difficult it was for some of us to actually get here.” The logistical effort and physical strain are enormous, especially for the German doubles, who had to travel to China directly after the final in New York. The air distance from Germany to China is around 10,000 kilometers, and from New York almost 13,000.

DTB team boss furious

The ITF justified the award to China on economic grounds. An ITF spokesman said it offered “the opportunity to further increase growth”.

Kohlmann replied: “I think the ITF has to face questions.” I think we have made our positions relatively clear. We will have to wait and see what happens next.” Despite the optimal organization by the Chinese Tennis Association, the decision remains controversial. “They are really trying their best here and I think they have organized it optimally here too.”

Top players like Zverev cancel Davis Cup

The decision also has an impact on the competition. Top players such as Alexander Zverev and US Open finalist Taylor Fritz have cancelled due to the strain, and US Open winner Jannik Sinner was worried about his seriously ill aunt after his greatest triumph. Other top players are also missing, which could degrade the Davis Cup from a prestigious competition to a middle-class event. “The effort and reward are not in proportion for the stars,” say the critics.

The other three groups, which are played in Europe like the final round, do better. The host team plays in all three groups. The fact that the ITF did not handle this in the same way in DTB Group C is probably due to greed and could have easily been avoided.

Davis Cup must face fundamental questions

The two best teams from the four preliminary groups qualify for the finals in Malaga in November. Germany will have to compete without its top players Alexander Zverev and Jan-Lennard Struff. The ITF should avoid such mistakes in the future in order to maintain the Davis Cup as a prestigious team competition. (ck)