- Wawrinka has taken to social media to criticise Pique over the Davis Cup format
- Pique’s company, Kosmos, changed the rules in 2019 which has affected crowds
- Wawrinka showed a video of a near-empty Manchester Arena as he played
Tennis star Stan Wawrinka has taken to social media to criticise Gerard Pique and his company Kosmos as he showed a video with thousands of empty seats in the ATP Davis Cup.
Pique’s company, Kosmos, changed the tournament’s lay-out back in 2019 as the Davis Cup now includes a group stage, played in several cities around Europe.
The format has been widely criticised, with smaller crowds in attendance since it has changed.
Switzerland took on France in Manchester on Tuesday, with Wawrinka taking to X to criticise Pique as he showed video footage of the near-empty stadium.
He wrote: ‘Thank you @3gerardpique @ITFTennis! Davis Cup France vs Switzerland in Manchester lol’.
Stan Wawrinka took to social media to criticise Gerard Pique for the small crowd in Manchester
Pique’s company Kosmos changed the rules for the tournament in 2019 and face criticism
Wawrinka is not the first person to criticise the format, or Pique.
Belgium’s former French Open semi-finalist Filip Dewulf, now a journalist, posted a picture of a largely empty stadium at the Caja Magica (Magic Box) prior to his country’s opening group match on Monday against Colombia.
However, the Spaniard denied this as he accused Dewulf of taking pictures before the match had started.
‘It’s easy to take a picture before the players have arrived on court and criticise. The true atmosphere during the game is this one,’ he said before following up with a photo of a packed stand.
He finalised: ‘Are you sure there are just 15 (people in the stands)!?’
Wawrinka recorded a video of the stands at the Manchester Arena on Tuesday
There were a handful of Swiss supporters in attendance as Wawrinka took to the court
Pique is yet to respond to Wawrinka’s criticism, with it clear that the format isn’t attracting large crowds.
The Swiss have only won the Davis Cup once, back when 38-year-old Wawrinka lined up alongside Roger Federer to beat France in Lille in 2014.
Wawrinka will be hoping that he can repeat the feat and that crowds pick up as the tournament progresses.
However, Pique is under pressure as there are minimal crowds turning out for the Davis Cup under its new format.