“Stan Wawrinka created a bit of a furor with filming the stands, unfortunate he did it in a public way” - Davis Cup committee chair Mark Woodforde

Mark Woodforde, chair of the Davis Cup committee, has expressed his disapproval of the method used by Stan Wawrinka to criticize the tournament.

On Tuesday, September 12, Wawrinka posted a video on social media showing almost empty stands at the AO Arena in Manchester during Switzerland’s tie against France.

The Swiss player, on Friday, said that he has played in Challenger events that had a better atmosphere than what he witnessed at the Davis Cup recently.

“We see the difference between today and three days ago – it’s not normal. I played some Challenger tournaments this year and there were way more people and a way better atmosphere than when we played France,” he said. (via The Independent)

The 38-year-old criticized the tournament's decision to continue with a playing format that the player deemed a "disaster".

“You have to try new things, that’s for sure, but it’s been quite a clear disaster. This company, they finish a 25-year deal after five years so that means something is wrong. And the people who took this decision are still deciding for the future of Davis Cup,” he added.

Former doubles World No. 1 Mark Woodforde, who serves as the chair of the Davis Cup committee, has questioned the motive of the few who have criticized the tournament, and questioned the public manner in which Wawrinka aired his criticism.

“It’s in the minority some of those voices, some of them are politically motivated, which is unnecessary. Stan created a bit of a furore with filming the stands. We’re always welcome to having feedback, it’s unfortunate he did it in such a public way,” he said.

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“The old format was killing Davis Cup” - Mark Woodforde rules out tournament's return to the old ways

Nicolas Mahut in action at the AO Arena in Manchester, England.

After the Kosmos group took over the running of the Davis Cup from the International Tennis Federation in 2018, they made a few changes to the tournament's format. The home-and-away ties have been shelved in favor of a World Cup-style event with group stages and matches being played on neutral soil.

With the changes not helping the tournament's popularity, several players have called for the event to return to its old format. Mark Woodforde, however, has ruled it out.

“We’re fully aware that some players will say, ‘Why don’t we go back to that home-and-away format?’ That format was not working. That’s why the change came about. The old format was killing Davis Cup,” he said.

Woodfore said that the tournament structure was changed after receiving pressure from many of the parties involved.

“We had nations telling the ITF they were unhappy, it needed to change. We had our title sponsor telling us we need to make changes, we need to keep the competition alive, we need to make it fresh,” he added.