By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, September 24, 2023

 

American David Haggerty is re-elected as International Tennis Federation President and will serve another four-year term from 2023-2027.

Photo credit: ITF

ITF voters have spoken: it's four more years for David Haggerty.

American David Haggerty was re-elected as International Tennis Federation President and will serve another four-year term from 2023-2027.

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The ITF announced Haggerty received 72.94% of the votes cast at the 2023 ITF Annual General Meeting in Cancun, Mexico today.

There were 436 votes cast giving a required majority of 219 votes. Haggerty received 318 votes, the ITF announced. Germany's Dietloff Von Arnim was Haggerty's only challenger.

“I’d like to thank the ITF membership for placing their faith in me for a further term," Haggerty said."Our long-term sustainable growth strategy, ITF 2024, has resulted in the ITF’s funding for tennis development nearly doubling in just a few years since its introduction.

“I very much look forward to working alongside our Executive and Board to review and refresh our strategy for this next phase. We will ensure we place the ITF’s competitions on a strong footing and continue to fuel investment in the global development of our game to deliver the ITF’s mission of tennis for future generations.”



The 66-year-old Haggerty was initially elected President in September of 2015 succeeding Francesco Ricci Bitti.

During Haggerty's tenure as President, the ITF has tried to grow the game, urge more cooperation among the Grand Slams and rebranded Fed Cup as Billie Jean King Cup.

Still, there has been controversy. Haggerty and the ITF came under fierce criticism from some stars, including Lleyton Hewitt, John McEnroe and Stan Wawrinka, for their Davis Cup reconstruction. 

The plan spearheaded by ITF President Haggerty and investment group Kosmos, led by former FC Barcelona soccer star Gerard Pique, reformed Davis Cup culminating with the 18-nation, week-long Davis Cup finale each November.

Incensed by his belief an ex-soccer star is calling the shots reforming Davis Cup, Hewitt said changes are too radical, suggested Kosmos essentially bought power at the ITF and accused the Haggerty administration of killing the spirit of Davis Cup.

Hewitt favors Davis Cup’s traditional home-and-away ties and best-of-five-set matches. Reforms reduced Davis Cup matches to best-of-three-sets and virtually eliminates the home-and-away format—except for the February qualifying round.

"They have gone from one end of the spectrum to the other and they are going to have to deal with it," Hewitt said. "Now we are getting run by a Spanish football player and he knows nothing about tennis and that is ridiculous.

"His group has bought into the ITF and they are basically running the ITF—a soccer league is the main sponsor of the Davis Cup, and that to me is mind boggling.”

Last January, the ITF and Kosmos terminated their 25-year, $3 billion Davis Cup deal after five years.

"The ITF can confirm that its partnership with Kosmos Tennis for Davis Cup is ending," the ITF said in a statement. "The ITF has ensured financial contingencies are in place and as the custodian of the competition we will operate the 2023 Qualifiers and Finals as scheduled, with the Final 8 taking place in Malaga, Spain, this November."

Critics cited the deal failing on two fronts: eliminating the essence of Davis Cup with the format changes and Kosmos failing to fulfill its vow to pump more money into the sport.

Kosmos, the agency founded by footballer Pique, made significant changes to the format of the Davis Cup, and had also pledged further money for the development of the sport on a global scale.

In an interview with Reuters last June, Von Armin said in addition to leading recovery from the botched Kosmos deal, the President must tap into new revenue streams to fund the ITF's global initiatives.

"Where can we find new revenue streams inside the ITF? We have the Davis Cup where we have an economically ... unhappy situation at the moment," Von Arnim told Reuters at the French Open. "[The Kosmos deal] was guaranteeing the ITF money and this money is gone now, so we have a real problem.

"So when we talk about innovation, it means investment as well. And then we have to think about digitalization. This is one of the revenue streams which at the moment is too small."