MELBOURNE, Jan 13 (Reuters) – Gerard Pique’s Kosmos Tennis mentioned on Friday that the Worldwide Tennis Federation’s (ITF) resolution to finish its Davis Cup partnership with the non-public funding group adopted an unsuccessful try and renegotiate the enterprise mannequin.

The ITF mentioned on Thursday that the partnership was ending 5 years right into a 25-year, $3 billion settlement unveiled in 2018 amid a lot fanfare over guarantees to ship “long-term advantages” for followers and all stakeholders of the sport.

That determine meant Kosmos promised to take a position $120 million per yr, which was “considerably decreased” in the course of the COVID pandemic and assorted in subsequent years, earlier than being raised once more lately, an organization spokesperson instructed Reuters.

“In response to the ITF’s public assertion yesterday, it seems that Kosmos Tennis and the ITF had been unable to succeed in an settlement to renegotiate the enterprise mannequin, in addition to the present and future price requested by the ITF,” the Kosmos spokesperson added.

“This price, which was considerably decreased in the course of the pandemic, has assorted through the years of collaboration and was lately raised once more.

“Kosmos has paid in full the 2022 price. Prize cash shall be paid in due time when necessities from nations are met.”

The ITF, the game’s governing physique, mentioned it had monetary contingencies in place and would function the 2023 Davis Cup qualifiers and finals as scheduled, with the Ultimate 8 going down in Malaga, Spain, in November.

The take care of Kosmos — which is fronted by former Barcelona soccer participant Pique — was adopted by an overhaul of the boys’s group competitors based in 1900, with the same old home-and-away ties performed over a couple of weekends within the yr scrapped.

Since 2019, as a part of a brand new format, there was one home-and-away spherical of ties adopted by 18-teams competing in a single metropolis for a week-long finale to the season.

After the 2020 version was postponed as a result of COVID-19, the 2021 finale was held throughout 11 days in three cities — Madrid, Turin and Innsbruck.

One other format tweak final yr noticed groups compete in a gaggle stage in September, with the highest eight advancing to the finals.

Kosmos will proceed to be linked to tennis, having lately added Borna Coric, Elina Svitolina and Andrey Rublev to its checklist of represented athletes.

The spokesperson mentioned the corporate would proceed with its different sporting tasks.

Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Melbourne
Enhancing by Toby Davis

Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.