Dave Haggerty: “Arabia? We need to develop tennis around the world”

The president of the International Tennis Federation, Dave Haggerty, is in Seville, in the decisive leg of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. Recently re-elected as head of international tennis, he appreciates the development of a competition that changed its format a few years ago and intends to live in this system.

Haggerty, who spoke to three media outlets, including Agencia EFE, appreciated the presentation of the tournament in Seville, the current format and the presence of the players. The president of the International Federation recognizes that it is necessary to talk to the WTA to avoid the WTA Finals – a masters tournament among the eight best in the world – and the Billie Jean King Cup Finals to overlap as happened this year, a situation. which caused some of the main tennis players to not attend the appointment with the national team.

-What do you think of everything that happened at the WTA Finals?

“It’s the WTA’s job to talk about what happened but we learned that we need to communicate with them so that the transition from the WTA Finals to this Billie Jean King Finals is smoother. I’m glad to see that many players They decided from Cancun, even though they know they will arrive in the morning and have to play a few hours later. This is a sign of their commitment to their countries. But we need to work with the WTA to improve it for the future. They announced six weeks in advance where it will be held and we know we will be in Seville for months.”

-Do you think the current format is the best?

“Yes. We met with the teams on Monday and Tuesday and talked to them. Both the players and the captains are very happy, excited to be here. They like the format and playing as a team … The rest of the season They play individually, and here they meet as friends. They enjoy it. The facilities are very good, they have a lot of time to train, the environment, food, transportation and hospitality are very good. Everyone together makes it main tennis event.

-What is your assessment of this Billie Jean King Cup Finals?

“Fantastic. Seville, the Andalusian Government… Everyone cooperated very well. The transformation of a stadium with the history of La Cartuja into five tennis courts created the atmosphere that we wanted in our goal to make even better this competition every year “This is a Great start. We have a lot of ideas to keep improving, but it’s been a very special and warm welcome from Seville.”

-Spain hosts many ITF tournaments. What do you think of the structure of your circuit?

“Spain is very lucky because it has many players, many of them top, who have won Grand Slams, the Davis, the Billie Jean King Cup… We are very happy to work with Conchita (Martínez, director of these. Finals), that “Very nice. Arantxa is also here… You have many important names, and cities with prestigious tournaments like Madrid or Barcelona. But I’ll highlight Davis and the Billie Jean King Cup.”

“When I think about the past years, when I was president of the USTA, I remember that it was played in many bullrings, in Madrid, Valencia or right here in Seville. The atmosphere was always good, and that’s what we try to imitate. the Davis in Malaga and the Billie Jean King Cup in Seville. I am also impressed by the RFET, which organizes many junior tournaments. The most important thing is that there is a path to the elite for young people, and in Spain they are Everyone’ y “does a very professional job in the development of tennis in Spain, and that is why they are successful.”

-Saudi Arabia invests in many sports. Is tennis next?

“I’m going to Arabia at the end of the month, and the reason I’m going is that there are many countries in the world, and we need to develop tennis around the world. The ITF is no different from the ATP or the WTA. We are the organizers of take care of this sport around the world, and we need to make sure that there are many junior tournaments and for players who are starting professional tennis. The president of the Saudi federation is a woman and I will meet with her and the Minister of Sports so that we “help by investing in those types of events. The NextGen Finals are there this year, in Jeddah, which is good, but I want to make sure that we have a structure so that their fans, if they are inspired. by what they see, tennis can be accessible.”

-Recently he was re-elected. What is your main goal in this new mandate?

“I think in the last eight years we have been very fortunate. We have made very important decisions and changes, like the formats of Davis and the Billie Jean King Cup. But at the same time we have faced big challenges, like an unexpected Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now a conflict in the Middle East, economic problems or COVID.

“The most important thing now is stability, to strengthen ourselves so that in a few years there will be no more criticism of formats, that people trust us and what we do, that they have the same confidence as I do with these changes. Everything we do with our competitions is to get the money needed to help countries, especially the smaller ones, the ones that don’t have the necessary resources to develop tennis. I also want to find instead, someone who will follow me. I feel that the next election is the right time to leave.”

-What is the position of the ITF regarding pickleball and paddle tennis?

“I think tennis is the main racket sport, but we have to pay attention to its variants. In North America, pickleball has grown a lot. They work with the Federation. Many of our countries have responsibilities for paddle tennis and many others want “The ITF can help them in that process. What we want is to make sure that these variants are built around tennis, that they are not focused on taking players from us, but rather give more opportunities to clubs and players. to try new things and enjoy tennis.” .