LONDON — Retired tennis player David Ferrer was appointed tournament director of the Davis Cup Finals on Tuesday.

The 40-year-old, a three-time Davis Cup champion with Spain who reached a career-best singles ranking of No. 3, replaces Albert Costa, who had held the position since 2019.

“The Davis Cup is a unique competition. As a player, it is one of the tournaments that you always want to play because of what it means,” Ferrer said. “You compete as a team, you play for your country, you spend a week with your teammates and the crowd atmosphere is unbelievable.”

Sixteen teams will compete in the finals group stage in September in the cities of Bologna in Italy, Glasgow in Scotland, Hamburg in Germany and Valencia in Spain. The top two teams from each group qualify for the final eight in Malaga, Spain, Nov. 22-27.