Boris Becker has publicly responded to Gerard Pique’s controversial proposal (Image: GETTY)
has clapped back at former defender Gerard Pique after he proposed a series of changes to make tennis more exciting to watch. The four-time winner believes that some aspects of the sport are too boring and should be changed to increase entertainment value.
Pique has found success in the sports entertainment industry following his retirement from football three years ago. He is president and owner of the Kings League, a revolutionary small-sided tournament which pits content creators and former professional players against each other.
The league features a number of unique elements, including tie-breaker penalty shootouts and the implementation of secret weapons, to promote unpredictability and entertainment. It has certainly had the desired impact, with last month’s inaugural World Cup of Nations drawing over 100 million viewers.
The former Barcelona defender wants second serves and advantage points to be scrapped (Image: GETTY)
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Buoyed by his success with the Kings League, Pique made a series of suggestions to improve the sport of tennis in a conversation with former Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas on a recent podcast. He argued that second serves and advantage points should be scrapped and replaced with a new system.
“We try to change certain things, but there is no way,” said Pique. “The ITF doesn’t want to change anything. Why are there two serves? That’s another 30 seconds making the ball bounce.
“People want to see the point. People don’t want to see a five-minute game with deuce-advantage-deuce-advantage. There should be a sudden-death point at 40-40. Let’s set a decisive point.”
Pique’s comments drew a public response from Becker, who suggested that he is not qualified to speak about tennis because he comes from a football background. Taking to , the three-time champion wrote: “A very good footballer shouldn’t be discussing the future of tennis, with all respect.”
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Brad Gilbert, who previously coached , insisted that no fundamental tweaks should be made to the existing tennis format in a reply to Becker’s original post. He said: “Totally agree with you BB. [It would be] like making soccer changes.”
After making his suggestions, Pique warned that sports like padel and pickleball could surpass tennis in terms of popularity unless governing bodies are willing to embrace change.
“All statistics show that fewer and fewer people are playing tennis, while padel and pickleball are on the rise,” he claimed. “Why? For many reasons. In clubs, you can fit two padel courts in the space of one tennis court.
“Padel is more enjoyable, even when there’s a skill gap between players, whereas in tennis, that can be a major issue. If you don’t find a way to reignite enthusiasm, you’ll gradually lose spectators.”