The International Tennis Federation (ITF) governing body has announced the appointment of Feliciano Lopez as the tournament director for the 2023 Davis Cup Finals premier men’s teams competition.

The 41-year-old professional tennis player, who made his Davis Cup debut for Spain in 2003 and has won the competition on four occasions, will lead the delivery of the 2023 Davis Cup Finals Group Stage from September 12 to 17 and the Final 8 in Malaga from November 21 to 26.

Lopez also served as tournament director of the Madrid Open in 2019.

He has revealed that this will be his last season as a professional player, having achieved a career-high singles ranking of 12 in 2015 and a highest doubles ranking of nine in 2016.

Lopez said: “It is a great honor to become Davis Cup Finals tournament director and I thank the ITF for appointing me. I have some special memories of playing in this competition so I am very happy to be taking a leading role in delivering these events.

“As an athlete, representing your country is the pinnacle of your career. It always meant so much to me, and you can see how much it means to every player who has competed in this competition over the years.

“As tournament director, my sole focus will be to build on the recent success of the competition and make it the best it can be for players and supporters across the world. I can’t wait to get started.”

David Haggerty, ITF president, added: “We are thrilled to welcome Feliciano on board and I have no doubt he will be a huge asset to the competition. He is a Davis Cup legend and embodies everything the competition is about passion, entertainment and pride in representing your country.

“His playing record speaks for itself and he is adored across Spain for good reason, but he has also shown his talent as a tournament director in recent years and that is why we have brought him in at this stage of the competition.

“The ITF and Feliciano are fully aligned in our aims to continue the recent growth of this wonderful event, and his appointment builds even more excitement for the Finals Group Stage in September, and the Final 8 in November.”

The Group Stage will take place across four events in Bologna in Italy, a yet-to-be-confirmed city in Croatia, Valencia in Spain, and Manchester in the UK. Four teams will play in a round-robin format at each event, with the top two teams in each group progressing to the Final 8.

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