Former British No 1 John Lloyd thinks it is “beyond belief” that Jannik Sinner, Emma Raducanu and other tennis stars chose not to compete in the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup this year.
World No 2 Sinner has faced some strong criticism for choosing to skip the 2025 Davis Cup Finals in Bologna this month. Sinner helped his nation win the team competition in both 2023 and 2024.
Lorenzo Musetti, who is ranked eighth, also withdrew from Italy’s squad, but the hosts still managed to lift a third successive title as they saw off Spain in the final.
Carlos Alcaraz, the world No 1, was due to lead the Spanish team at the Davis Cup, but he pulled out due to an injury he picked up at the ATP Finals.
These high-profile withdrawals left third-ranked Alexander Zverev as the only top 10 player competing at the Davis Cup Finals.
Three players who were in the top 10 of the WTA Rankings at the time played the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in September: Jasmine Paolini, Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina. Italy defeated the United States in the final.
Raducanu, who is the British No 1, faced scrutiny for her decision not to play the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
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Speaking on the Inside-In Tennis Podcast, Lloyd lamented the decline of the Davis Cup as he made his feelings known on the lack of top players in action this year.
“Well, to be honest, my reaction was sadness. Not because Italy won it, but because of where the Davis Cup has come now. I mean this, to me, I have been saying this for years and years: that the Davis Cup has become a bit of a joke,” said the former world No 23.
“It’s managed to get away with it, because when it’s being played in a different country, whether it’s patriotic… you still get people coming to watch no matter what.
“But you cannot have a competition that is billed as the greatest team competition when you’ve got one player in the top 10 playing. You cannot fool the public. You can in Italy because they want to see their own country and they are blessed with a lot of good players.
“But Musetti and Sinner did not play because of physical reasons. They basically said they wanted a rest and they wanted to prepare for next year. That, to me, is beyond belief. That’s where the Davis Cup has come now. That never would have happened [in my era].”
Lloyd, an Australian Open runner-up in 1977, went on to make the same point about the Billie Jean King Cup and criticised Raducanu’s decision.
“It’s not just the men, it’s the women. Look at the Billie Jean King Cup, which has also become a farce in that way,” the Brit continued.
“Emma Raducanu… Great Britain had a chance for the first time to possibly win it. She pulls out of it and says she wants to spend more time with the new coach and get ready for the next season or ranking points. I am thinking, are you kidding me?
“When is it not a privilege to play for your country? Where has the game gone to now, where players are just saying, ‘You know what, it’s the end of the season…’”
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