Hewitt's Davis Cup legacy is secure — his captaincy should not be

(Getty/Andy Cheung)

Lleyton Hewitt will now be free in November to join Mark Schwarzer, Jason Dunstall, Cameron Smith and others at the gala celebration dinner in Melbourne for the seven new inductees of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.

He is a tennis great, a two-time major singles winner, former world No.1 and the most successful and prolific Davis Cup player in Australian history.

Undeniably, a champion of the game.

But should Hewitt be Australia's Davis Cup captain for an 11th year in 2026?

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Pending his flagged appeal of a two-week suspension from September 25 - at a time designed, remarkably, not to be "unduly punitive" - and the $30,000 fine that is small change for an athlete who earned over $30 million in official prize money alone, the quick answer: no.

However the appeal process ends, following the finding by an independent tribunal that Hewitt pushed a 60-year-old anti-doping official after November's Davis Cup semi-final loss to Italy in Málaga, there are still too many red flags around Hewitt's broader behaviour over an extended period.

In this case, Hewitt argued self-defence. Still, the panel in its finding also cited "a poor disciplinary record, including five prior incidents of offensive conduct toward tennis officials and non-compliance with tennis rules". Plus, conduct during the hearing in Sydney in July was deemed "obstructive and inappropriate".

Surprised?

Really?

Deafening has been the silence from Tennis Australia, who parachuted Hewitt into the coveted position straight after his (sort of) farewell Australian Open in 2016, and have kept him there for a decade, despite a combative style and problematic relationships at times with multiple players.

Such is the power Hewitt wields that calls for a change of captain and culture are unlikely to lead anywhere, and no one is questioning his commitment and dedication to the cause or service to a competition controversially overhauled by promoter Gerard Piqué's Kosmos group in 2019 that ended abruptly in 2023.

As Hewitt thundered last week, while lamenting the loss of the year-long home-and-away format and best-of-five-set matches: "When it became the 'Piqué Cup' as well, they sold the soul, and we want to try to get it back to where it was meaningful". The ITF's US$3 billion deal over 25 years with Kosmos collapsed.

No doubt, the weekend's dramatic 3-2 loss to Belgium at Ken Rosewall Arena, which will deny Australia a place in the year-end Finals in November for the first time since the changes were introduced, will have cut the Aussie warrior deeply.

And the passion of all involved - including the unfortunate Aleksandar Vukic in the decisive fifth rubber against unlikely Belgian hero Raphael Collignon - was, typically, clear to see.

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SUCCESSION PLAN

Back in 2015, Hewitt was regarded by some as a slightly premature choice as skipper to replace Pat Rafter in a handover facilitated by a one-year stint from interim boss Wally Masur.

Inevitably, though, the boy wonder who became the main man in Australian tennis was installed in a role that then-president Steve Healy declared Hewitt "was virtually born to do", and had CEO Craig Tiley enthusing that "Lleyton is the embodiment of the Davis Cup spirit".

Regardless, a captain needs to set the tone and example in every respect. Standards are necessary and expectations high. As they should be.

Is someone with a longstanding disdain for the media (except when working in it as a well-remunerated broadcaster) the best role model for the generation coming through?

Is he the appropriate ambassador for a sport that, January aside, increasingly struggles for profile and eyeballs in Australia between Grand Slams? Even acknowledging the admirable de Minaur's popularity, our solid depth on the men's side and the ever-growing list of imports now headed by transplanted Russian Daria Kasatkina boosting the thinner women's stocks?

And whether one likes the current, condensed iteration of Davis Cup or not, how helpful is it to be constantly disparaging an historic if clearly diminished competition that is the reason your job even exists?

No doubt Hewitt brings many positive qualities and vast experience to his role as captain of a team that reached the 2022 and 2023 finals, has given great service to his country and boasts many disciples within the squad. His legacy is secure.

Yet he remains a polarising figure; one who has apparently fallen out with several respected local identities in recent years, and whose behaviour is believed to have previously been reported internally, yet gone unsanctioned.

Now, after a drawn-out process, and despite a watered-down version of the penalties originally sought by the International Tennis Integrity Association (ITIA), the bigger-picture scenario should not be ignored. The time for change has come.

Leadership is not just about tactics, rev-ups and results, but culture, respect and the embodiment of an organisation's values.

Even if Davis Cup is not what it was, Lleyton Hewitt continuing as Davis Cup captain is not what Australian tennis needs.

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