Boris Becker slams Gerard Pique’s proposals to reform ‘the future of tennis’

Gerard Pique's comments during an episode of Bajo los Palos, a podcast hosted by Iker Casillas, did not sit well with tennis players and fans.

Boris Becker slams Gerard Pique’s proposals to reform ‘the future of tennis’

Gerard Pique and Boris Becker (via X)

Former Spanish footballer Gerard Pique is now proving to be a polarizing figure in the tennis world. His recent comments as a guest on the first episode of Bajo los Palos, a podcast hosted by former goalkeeper and fellow 2010 World Cup winner Iker Casillas, have come to the spotlight, with many not taking his opinion well.

Pique challenged some of the sport’s long-standing traditions, such as the second serve. He remarked that it just adds an extra 30 seconds of a player bouncing the ball, and people don’t want to see that. Pique also added that people do not want to watch a game that drags on with deuce-advantage-deuce-advantage. He suggested an implementation of a golden point at 40-40.

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Six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker went on X to criticize Gerard Pique‘s take on tennis. He tagged Pique and remarked that a very good footballer shouldn’t be discussing the future of tennis with all respect.

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A very good footballer shouldn’t be discussing the future of tennis ( with all respect).

Boris Becker wrote on X

It is perhaps the distinct scoring system of tennis that makes the sport incredibly beautiful, unpredictable, and exciting, especially during a situation of 40-40 or tie breaks. Several fans and tennis players are unhappy with Pique’s comments in the podcast, questioning the credibility of someone who has never played tennis professionally to suggest such changes to the sport.

Gerard Pique’s failed attempt at transforming the Davis Cup

Gerard Pique is the founder and president of Kosmos Holding (Kosmos Global Holding S.L.), a sports and media investment group. The former FC Barcelona defender founded this group with Hiroshi Mikitani (founder and chairman of Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten, Inc.), Edmund Chu, Nullah Sarker, and Mike Evans.

Gerard Pique
Gerard Pique (via X)

Kosmos had struck a deal with the International Tennis Federation in 2018 for a 25-year, $3 billion partnership to transform the Davis Cup and generate substantial revenues for global tennis development. In August 2018, U.S. billionaire Larry Ellison also publicly stated his support of Kosmos and his intention to invest in the Kosmos-ITF partnership.

Pique’s reforms, however, sparked widespread controversy. In January 2023, the International Tennis Federation abruptly removed Pique and Kosmos from the partnership.

The project quickly ran into trouble, and beyond financial disagreements, the new format introduced by Kosmos never won over players or tennis fans. This included changing the format of the 123-year-old tournament to an end-of-season ‘World Cup-style’ event, which was controversial among tennis players.