By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
Simon Briggs with the UK’s Telegraph news outlet reported earlier this year that the International Tennis Federation and its new partner Kosmos, which Briggs describes as soccer star Gerard Pique’s “iconoclastic investment group” have come up with the idea for a new event, to be part of running events in conjunction with their investment into the ITF as part of its takeover of the Davis Cup and eventually the Fed Cup.
The event is labeled the “Majesty Cup” and is a 64-man, winner-takes-all event. Briggs writes “The new idea is technically an exhibition and would be staged in the week after the US Open. But the eye-catching detail is the proposed prize money of $10 million (£7.5 million)” and can read more in detail here:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2018/09/20/tennis-poised-new-majesty-cup-tournament-winner-takes-pot-75mprize/?WT.mc_id=tmg_share_tw
Let’s just say, this is not the greatest idea that’s ever been put forth in sports. Who is going to watch any round before the final when nothing is really on the line? What 63 players are going to play and earn nothing? Kosmos should hire me as a creative event consultant because this idea is not nearly as good the others that the ITF and Kosmos should look at. Why try to concoct new events when you can also try to resurrect old ones? Enter, example No. 1 – the Grand Slam Cup.
For those who don’t remember, the Grand Slam Cup was a year-end competition for men that featured the top 16 players who performed the best at all four Grand Slam tournaments during the year, based on a points system that awards points based on your Grand Slam tournament finish. The event was a men’s only event except for two years and it was held in December in Munich, Germany. More info on the event can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Slam_Cup I remember fondly watching the matches from the 1980s, played during the Christmas season, with the court’s surroundings being decorated in a style that gave off the feel of Munich’s famous Christmas markets.
With the ITF looking to move the Davis Cup final to September, a resurrected Grand Slam Cup could be held in the late November slot or early December. However, extending the tennis season one more week is not something the tennis world wants or needs. However, it would only affect 16 men and 16 women, as opposed to the Davis Cup, which affects about 100 men. And, players have the option of not playing if they would prefer to rest than to play for more millions.
Based on Grand Slam results from this past year, these would be the men’s and women’s fields for a hypothetical new Grand Slam Cup for 2018.
MEN
1-Novak Djokovic 1425 points
2-Rafael Nadal 1350 points
3-Juan Martin del Potro 900 points
4-Roger Federer 825 points
5-Marin Cilic 750 points
6-Dominic Thiem 677 points
7-Kevin Anderson 602 points
8 –Kei Nishkori 587 points
9-John Isner 527 points
10-Kyle Edmund 382 points
11 -Hyeon Chung 320 points
12-Marco Cecchinato 304 points
13-Diego Schwartzmann 285 points
14-Alexander Zverev 270 points
15 – Milos Raonic – 227 points
16-Fabio Fognini 210 points
Karen Khachanov – 210 points
ALTERNATES:
Grigor Dimitrov 194 points
John Millman 192 points
David Goffin 175 points
Tennys Sandrgren 174 points
Nick Kyrgios 155 points
Tomas Berdych 152 points
Pablo Carreno Busta 137 points
Andreas Seppi 117 points
WOMEN
1-Simona Halep 1092 points
2-Angie Kerber 1090 points
3-Serena Williams 975 points
4-Madison Keys 790 points
5-Caroline Wozniacki 715 points
6-Naomi Osaka 685 points
7-Sloane Stephens 604 points
8-Elise Mertens 490 points
9-Karolina Pliskova 415 points
10-Jelena Ostapenko 382 points
11-Julia Goerges 380 points
12-Carla Suarez Navarro 360 points
13-Daria Kasatkina 340 points
14-Garbine Muguruza 360 points
15-Ana Sevastova 324 points
16-Kiki Bertens 270 points
ALTERNATES
Maria Sharapova 267 points
Lesia Tsurenko 265 points
Elina Svitolina 242 points
Barbora Stycova 230 points
Camila Giorgi 230 points
Dominika Cibulkova 229 points
Caroline Garcia 192 points
This event is certainly something to consider.
