Steve Johnson has some pretty harsh words for the current Davis Cup format as the former American tennis star believes it is "awful" and "stinks."
Ever since completely revamping the Davis Cup format in 2019, the ITF has been receiving criticism and backlash - mostly from the active players, team captains, and former stars. When the change was made, the authorities noted their desire to lure the top players of the game to the competition once again.
This year, the DC Final 8 was scheduled to take place between November 18-23. While some of the biggest names of the game signed up to represent their respective countries, the majority of them ended up withdrawing late because it was already late in the season and they had picked up injuries. That list includes three top-10 players - Spanish world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, Italian world No. 2 Jannik Sinner and eighth-ranked Italian Lorenzo Musetti.
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German world No. 3 Alexander Zverev is the only top-10 player competing in Bologna this week.
Johnson rips the Davis Cup: It stinks and is awful
"Horrible. It's pretty brutal. I think especially for fans, it's horrible. It's awful. Davis Cup stinks... The format stinks now. It sucks for the guys. You guys know how much fun we had those weeks: you get there, you play one tie, three out of five, FridaySaturdaySunday. I thought it was just great fellowship with your team, which you dont often get to do because everythings individual. I loved those weeks," Johnson said on the Nothing Major Show.
When Johnson represented the United States in the Davis Cup between 2015 and 2018, the competition still used its old format. Before retiring in 2024, the American appeared in a total of four ties for the United States and posted a 1-3 record in singles.
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Meanwhile, although they are without their top players this week, Italy and Spain still made thefinal in Bologna.
