Fed Cup Finals Gets A New Home

The tennis world cup for the WTA women, Fed Cup have revamped their format for the next year. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) mentioned that the ladies’ Fed Cup finals will be held on the clay courts in the Hungarian capital of Budapest.

“We have consulted and listened to stakeholders and worked with the WTA and its Player Council to make sure the new format represents the interests of the players,” ITF president David Haggerty said.  

The finals will take place at the Laszlo Papp Budapest Sports Arena on clay on the two-match courts for the next three years, 2020-22. In the new format, there will be 20 nations competing against each other and every year 12 teams will be qualifying for the Fed Cup Finals and compete for the prize money of $18 million.

An amount of $12 million will be awarded to the players and $6 million will be given to National Associations. For the 2020 Fed Cup, 16 nations will compete in the qualifiers and half of them will proceed to the finals.

They will meet, this year’s finalists, Australia, France, the host nation Hungary and one wild card nation which is yet to be confirmed. In 2020, the WTA women will be playing a six-day final tournament in the month of April which will be held in Budapest, Hungary.

“The announcement of Budapest as host for the new Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Finals is the jewel in the crown of the city’s global tennis ambitions and underlines our status as one of the prime global capitals of sport,” Hungarian Secretary of State of Budapest’s Development and International Sports Events said.

“Hungarian tennis has a proud history of hosting men’s and women’s tour events and more than 100 ITF tournaments, and we are delighted to welcome the world to witness the best in women’s tennis next year. The Finals will provide the ideal platform to showcase Hungarian tennis – and, of course, the beautiful city of Budapest,” Hungarian Tennis Association (HTA) President stated.

The Fed Cup 2020 prize money incorporates an additional $4.9 million for countries competing below the elite level of the competition. Consequently, these measures would ensure the suitability of the sport and a bright future for tennis.