Stan Wawrinka calls out Gerard Pique over disappointing lack of crowd in Davis Cup France vs Switzerland tie in Manchester

Stan Wawrinka recently took to social media to take a sarcastic dig at former FC Barcelona star Gerard Pique, the owner of Kosmos Group - a sports and media investment group that collaborated with the ITF for the annual Davis Cup Finals.

The three-time Major winner wasn't impressed with the lack of crowd present at the World Group fixture between his home country Switzerland and France in Manchester, United Kingdom. He said:

"Thank you @3gerardpique @ITFTennis @DavisCup France vs Switzerland in Manchester lol," Wawrinka wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Going by his post, Stan Wawrinka was also miffed with ITF, who are the organizers of the prestigious team event. It was in 2018 when the global tennis governing body struck a 25-year partnership with Kosmos to help transform the Davis Cup's influence.

The Gerard Pique-owned company subsequently overhauled the old best-of-five format, which required the matches to take place over an entire season. The revamped format, however, reduced the matches to best-of-three.

The national teams now compete at select locations for a couple of weeks - a move that was lambasted by the entirety of the tennis community.

For what it's worth, the ITF realized its folly soon as they ended its Davis Cup partnership with the Kosmos group prematurely earlier this year.

The group stage of the Davis Cup Finals, which involves two singles matches and one doubles match, will run from 12 to 19 September. The winning teams are then set to compete in a knockout draw in Malaga, Spain from 21 to 26 November.

Stan Wawrinka joins Switzerland Davis Cup team for the team event following a successful comeback to tennis

Stan Wawrinka retrieves a ball at the 2023 Indian Wells Masters

Stan Wawrinka, meanwhile, has joined Switzerland for their group-stage tie against France in Manchester. The Swiss has had a respectable season in 2023, which contributed to his callback to the national Davis Cup team.

Wawrinka suffered from a serious back injury in early 2021, which kept him out of action for more than a year. He subsequently made his much-awaited return to the ATP tour in 2022. However, Wawrinka failed to make much inroads as he stagnated outside of the men's top 100 rankings.

The three-time Major winner has since made amends this year, posting a respectable 24-16 win-loss record. The highlights of his season include reaching the third round of Wimbledon and finishing as the runner-up at the 2023 Croatia Open.