MEN’S TENNIS WRAP: 2015 DAVIS CUP BY BNP PARIBAS BY THE NUMBERS, AND WHY CAN’T THE WINNING TEAM STAY ON TOP TILL THE FINALS OF THE NEXT YEAR?

Written by: Staff on 4th December 2015

MEN'S TENNIS WRAP: 2015 DAVIS CUP BY BNP PARIBAS BY THE NUMBERS, AND WHY CAN'T THE WINNING TEAM STAY ON TOP TILL THE FINALS OF THE NEXT YEAR?

epaselect epa05047439 Britain's team celebrates winning the Davis Cup World Group Final between Belgium and Britain in Gent, Belgium, 29 November 2015. EPA/LAURENT DUBRULE |

Editors note:

Yes, it’s true. You win the title. It’s yours all year ? Sort Of….The trophy comes home to stay for 11 odd months.

But literally you give blood, sweat and tears to start defending it almost immediately.

Yup. In February!

We here @10sBalls_com Love Davis Cup. But not in its present format! We saw many friends over the past five years organize their hectic 12 month all year round (Tennis Has NO OFF SEASON) to win it. To then lose in a few months. It’s a heartbreaking experience.

Simple solution.

The winning team automatically goes into next year’s finals.

A “challenge round” of sorts. Let the other 100 odd countries play it out for who has the right to play the current title holders of the cup.

We would not eliminate any countries. It really helps the growth of the sport globally.

We would just make that hard earned victory celebration last the whole year.

2015 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas by the numbers

A total of 576 players from 119 nations contested the 2015 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas in another memorable year for the competition. Great Britain, led by Andy Murray, captured its first title in 79 years and tenth title overall by defeating Belgium 3-1 in the Final in Ghent on 27-29 November.

Davis Cup by BNP Paribas was played in 55 countries in 2015, with a total of 83 home-and-away ties and five group events held in the World Group and three regional zones: Americas, Asia/Oceania and Europe/Africa.

Over 39,000 fans attended the Final in Ghent, bringing the total attendance for Davis Cup by BNP Paribas in 2015 to over 530,000 spectators.

Steve Darcis (2ndL) , David Goffin (2nd R) , Kimmer Coppejans (R) , Johan Van Herck (C) and Ruben Bemelmans (R) of Belgium pose with the cup during the final draw the Davis Cup World Group between Belgium and Great Britain in Gent, Belgium, 26 November 2015. EPA/LAURENT DUBRULE

It was another successful year for Davis Cup by BNP Paribas on television, with the Final shown in 154 territories by 37 broadcasters. The British broadcaster BBC TV saw a peak audience of 5 million viewers and peak market share of 34 per cent on Sunday. The two Belgian rights holding broadcasters, VRT and RTBF, enjoyed peak market shares of 43 per cent and 23 per cent respectively. Throughout 2015, Davis Cup was shown in 161 territories by 58 broadcasters.

The Davis Cup websites in English and Spanish have shown a 6 per cent growth in 2015, with a record 6.9 million visits, 3.8 million unique visitors and over 30 million page views achieved by the end of the 2015 Final. The competition’s social media properties in English, Spanish and Chinese have seen a 23 per cent increase in users this year, with a total social media audience of 640,000, including 234,000 Twitter followers and 358,000 Facebook likes. The winning point between Andy Murray and David Goffin has been viewed 1.1 million times on Davis Cup Facebook, with an overall reach of 5.5 million.

It has been a strong year commercially for Davis Cup, with title sponsor BNP Paribas extending its current agreement for a further five years through 2021. The ITF signed a new international sponsorship agreement with Betway, and extended existing agreements with Rolex and Adecco. In addition beIN SPORTS became the Official Global Media Rights Partner for Davis Cup and Fed Cup in a seven-year agreement.

Andy Murray became the first player to win eight live singles rubbers in a calendar year since the introduction of the World Group in 1981, improving his Davis Cup by BNP Paribas singles win-loss record to 27-2. The world’s top five players (Novak Djokovic, Murray, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal) have now all won the Davis Cup, having contested a total of 107 Davis Cup ties and 232 rubbers among them.

Britain’s team celebrates winning the Davis Cup World Group Final between Belgium and Britain in Gent, Belgium, 29 November 2015. EPA/LAURENT DUBRULE

A key factor in the success of Davis Cup by BNP Paribas has been the fan-focused campaign Show Your Colours, which promotes Davis Cup and Fed Cup as the world cups of tennis and has been used by all competing nations. Building on the unique team nature of both competitions, Show Your Colours uses branding elements for promotion, in-stadium activities and all of the ITF’s website and social media activity.

Davis Cup by BNP Paribas is the World Cup of Tennis. It is the largest annual international team competition in sport, with 119 teams taking part in 2015. The competition is 115 years old having been founded in 1900. The title sponsor is BNP Paribas, the Official Bank of Davis Cup. International sponsors are Rolex (Official Timekeeper)

Topics: Andy Murray, Belgium, British Tennis, Davis Cup Finals, Ghent, Great Britain, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

December 4, 2015 at 9:15 am

Men’s #Tennis Wrap: 2015 #DavisCup By BNP Paribas By The Numbers, And Why Can’t The Winning Team Stay…
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