A part of the Spanish soccer team that won the FIFA World Cup in 2010, Gerard Piqué has always been one of the cross-sport athletes keeping a keen eye on tennis, with his comments on the sport often generating noise due to their controversial nature.
And now, in retirement, the former FC Barcelona centre-back has once again shared strong views on what he believes is holding tennis back compared to other global sports–and how he thinks the game should evolve in response to the rising popularity of padel and pickleball.
Piqué’s Controversial Suggestions
In a podcast hosted by his former Spain teammate, Iker Casillas, Piqué did not shy away from proposing changes that many consider radical to both the sport of tennis and its long history.
“Why do you serve twice in tennis? It’s 30 extra seconds of a guy bouncing the ball. People don’t want to see that. Why all the deuce-advantage, deuce-advantage in a five-minute game? Let’s put in the golden ball. Tennis needs to evolve to adapt to the current speed and attract those young people who are tempted to watch a lot of other things like HBO or Netflix.”
Fans have already pushed back strongly against these proposals, even though exhibitions like the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) are already testing ideas such as using only one serve instead of two. Many argue that tennis does not need fixing at all, especially given that viewership and financial numbers have steadily increased since the pandemic. Others believe the sport’s governing bodies should instead focus on player welfare and reducing the grueling 11-month schedule rather than altering the sport’s core rules.
Piqué’s Complicated History With Tennis
Piqué has been linked with tennis for many years and has said he has loved the sport since childhood, when his father first took him to the Barcelona Open. But to most tennis fans, he is the footballer who completely changed and, in many eyes, damaged the Davis Cup.
In 2018, Piqué’s Kosmos investment group struck a lucrative multi-decade partnership with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to overhaul the century-old Davis Cup format, modeling it after soccer’s World Cup, with all teams competing at a single-venue finals.
Not only did the 25-year, $3 billion deal collapse after just five years due to financial issues, but the format change itself drew heavy criticism from fans and players alike. The loss of home-and-away ties and the shift from best-of-five to best-of-three matches led many to feel that the competition had lost its identity and prestige.
Now, two years after the partnership ended, Piqué has again caused uproar in the tennis community with his latest suggestions to “evolve” the game. What do you make of the changes he has proposed?
Main Photo Credit: Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]