Ever found yourself glued to the screen during a never-ending deuce battle? Or do you get impatient when a match drags on? If you’re in the second group, you might just agree with Gerard Piqué. But not everyone is on board. For one, the tennis legend Boris Becker!
Gerard Piqué recently appeared on Bajo Los Palos, a podcast hosted by his former Spain teammate Iker Casillas. While discussing tennis, he simply claimed that the sport is simply too slow. “We have tried to change certain things, but there’s no way. The ITF doesn’t want to change anything,” Piqué began sharing his views.
“Why serve twice in tennis?” he asked.
“It adds an extra 30 seconds of a player bouncing the ball. People don’t want to see that. Nor do they want to watch a game that stretches out with deuce-advantage-deuce-advantage. We should implement a golden point at 40-40.”
The idea of the second serve? Gone. The traditional deuce rule? Scrapped.
Piqué believes tennis needs to evolve to keep up with modern sports. The six-time Grand Slam champion, Boris Becker, wasted no time responding, “A very good footballer shouldn’t be discussing the future of tennis (with all respect @3gerardpique),” on his X handle.
A very good footballer shouldn’t be discussing the future of tennis ( with all respect @3gerardpique https://t.co/JmBaXfUw8N
— Boris Becker (@TheBorisBecker) February 28, 2025
This isn’t the former World Cup champion’s first run-in with the tennis world. Several years ago, he entered tennis through Kosmos Group, spearheading a dramatic overhaul of the Davis Cup. His sweeping reforms included turning it into a single-site, World Cup-style event. The response? Let’s just say it wasn’t great.
Roger Federer famously warned, “The Davis Cup should not become the Piqué Cup.” Even Becker was stunned by the overhaul, saying he was “lost for words.” Despite a 25-year management agreement, the ITF abruptly terminated the partnership in early 2023.
This time around also Boris Becker hasn’t been the only tennis figure calling out Piqué.
Brad Gilbert supports Boris Becker in his stance against Gerard Pique
Serena Williams’ former coach Brad Gilbert also chimed in, siding with Becker on the issue. “Totally agree with you BB, like making soccer changes,” Gilbert commented on X.
It’s clear that many within the tennis world aren’t thrilled about the idea of a footballer reshaping their sport. One of Piqué’s main arguments is that tennis is losing popularity. “All statistics show that fewer and fewer people are playing tennis,” he claimed. But is that true?
Not exactly.
According to the latest USTA report, tennis participation in the U.S. has actually grown to 25.7 million players in 2024, an 8% increase from 2023. And this isn’t just a onetime boost—it’s the fifth consecutive year of growth. The numbers suggest that tennis isn’t struggling nearly as much as Piqué thinks.
On the other side, Piqué, who won the 2010 World Cup with Spain, remains passionate about the sport. He often plays tennis with his Kosmos staff and seems determined to leave his mark. But judging by the reaction from tennis legends, his ideas might not find much support. What do you think about the proposed changes? Let us know in the comments below.
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