The French Tennis Association announced at the beginning of December that they had selected Baie Mahault in the French Overseas Territory of Guadeloupe, as the host venue of the Davis Cup World Group First round match between France and Canada from 4th to 6th March 2016. This Davis Cup tie will mark the debut of former Davis Cup champion Yannick Noah as French team captain.
Holding the Davis Cup in Guadeloupe was a great opportunity to help spread tennis to a new part of the world. It was supposed to be the first first Davis Cup home tie played by France away from the mainland, but it appears that France will be forced to change the venue due to budget problems.
It was predicted that holding the tie in Guadeloupe would cost one and a half million euros but it appears the cost will be closer to four and a half million euros. The cost is too high for the local government. “We are trying to find a solution. We cannot afford to host the Davis Cup if the cost will rise to four and a half million euros”, said Aly Chalus, the new President of Guadeloupe
According to the French newspaper L’Equipe, the Pierre Aliker tennis stadium in Fort de France in Martinica could be interested in hosting the Davis Cup match if Baie Mahault will decide that they will not hold the Davis Cup event. “The Pierre Aliker Stadium in Fort de France is a perfect venue to host international events. We are working on the plan to host the Davis Cup match between France and Canada but we cannot announce our bid until Guadeloupe decides that they will not host this event”, said Germain Soumbo, the President of the Tennis League of Martinica.
