Ticket sales for the revamped Davis Cup tournament have been struggling with less than two weeks to go before the World Cup-style national team tennis event.
The issue seems to be directed at the challenges of attempting to shift tickets for morning sessions.
The Davis Cup will take place at the Caja Mágica in Madrid in November and will feature 18 international teams.
Ticket sales have only reached 50 per cent for nine of the 25 sessions across the three arenas, though a further five are close.
The first two morning session ties in the main arena, between Argentina and Chile and Serbia and Japan, both have more than 8,000 tickets still available.
The new format was approved at last year’s International Tennis Federation AGM, despite clear opposition from current and former players, officials and fans. The move largely replaces the traditional home-and-away fixtures.
Investment firm Kosmos, which was founded by Barcelona footballer Gerard Pique, has been hoping to recoup some money through strong ticket sales after pledging to invest £2.3bn over 25 years.
A spokeswoman for Kosmos told the Press Association news agency: “We are happy with ticket sales for the afternoon sessions and from Friday until Sunday (quarter-finals, semi-finals and final) but it’s much more difficult to sell tickets for morning sessions, as happens in all tournaments.
“We are working with the 17 embassies in Spain in order to reach international communities living in Spain. We have economic prices. The cheapest ticket costs 25 euros and you can see a tie (comprising three matches).”
Sales are struggling despite countries naming strong teams, which was reportedly the main reason for the change of format. The competition will welcome six of the men’s world top 10, including Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Both of Spain’s group ties, against Russia and Croatia, have sold out the main arena, which seats more than 12,000 spectators.
Great Britain has sold the most tickets, behind the host nation, with a total of 3,000 tickets shifted for games against the Netherlands on November 20 and Kazakhstan the following day.
Image: Roman Boed
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