Jose Luis Escanuela (left) with Gala Leon, who he named Spain's Davis Cup captain. Escanuela was forced to resign from his position as Spanish Tennis Federation president after the country's top players, including Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer and 42 others, signed an open letter branding the federation’s leadership chaotic and belligerent.

By Les Roopanarine in Madrid/theguardian.com

Not often in recent years has Britain had more to crow about in the Davis Cup than Spain. Spearheaded by a trio of world No. 1s in Carlos Moya, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Rafael Nadal, the Spanish have reached the final of the venerable team competition seven times since the turn of the century, winning on five occasions.
Britain, meanwhile, last appeared in the final in 1978, when a team consisting of John and David Lloyd, Buster Mottram and Mark Cox lost 4-1 to the US. But a crisis in Spanish tennis means the worm has turned.
While the British, led by Andy Murray and ably backed by the resurgent James Ward, will be vying for a first semi-final appearance since 1981 when they play France at Queen’s Club, Spain face an arduous journey to Vladivostok, where they will play Russia.
Defeat for the Spanish—who last September tumbled out of the World Group as a third-string side slumped to a shock 3-1 loss against Brazil—is unthinkable. While victory would secure a tie against one of this year’s first-round losers, offering a potentially swift return to the competition’s top tier, a further reversal of fortune would condemn Nadal and company to the relative wilderness of Europe/Africa Zone Group I.
A succession of British Davis Cup captains can attest to the difficulty of escaping that sporting straitjacket.
So where has it all gone wrong for the Spanish? The problems began last September in Sao Paolo.
With Nadal at home recovering from a wrist injury and David Ferrer also absent, Roberto Bautista Agut and Pablo Andujar occupied the two singles berths against a Brazil team led by Thomaz Bellucci, a useful player but ranked beneath both men.
Even without their two star players, Spain should have had more than enough in reserve to clinch the contest. Instead, an inspired Bellucci won both his singles matches and that—combined with a not entirely unexpected win by doubles specialists Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares—meant Spain were out of the World Group for the first time in 18 years.
At that point, all hell broke loose. First the popular Moya resigned as Spanish captain, citing the difficulty of persuading the country’s best players to turn out. Then Ferrero—like Moya a former world No. 1 and French Open winner, and a figure who would have been warmly welcomed by the players—was overlooked as his replacement. Instead, the Spanish tennis federation president Jose Luis Escanuela appointed Gala Leon, a former world No. 27, as Spain’s first female Davis Cup captain.
Fresh from dismissing the furore surrounding his decision to take on Amelie Mauresmo as his coach, Murray applauded the news on Twitter.
The mood among the Spanish tennis fraternity was darker, however. Toni Nadal, Rafa’s coach and uncle, wondered publicly how a woman with no experience of the men’s tour could function effectively as coach given that she could not enter the locker room.Ferrer said the decision had been made too quickly and without consulting the players.
Escanuela, meanwhile, the man behind the appointment, came out strongly in support of the beleaguered Leon. “I’m the president, and Gala Leon is my captain,” he said. “I don’t think any woman has the obligation to explain why she is a woman.”
Strong words, but before long el presidente would be overtaken by events. Things came to a head on the eve of Wimbledon, when Escanuela was suspended by the Tribunal Administrativo del Deporte, the Spanish government’s disciplinary committee for sport, amid questions over the whereabouts of at least €700,000 (£497,000) distributed by the Spanish federation and allegations of a “complete lack of collaboration” with auditors.
Nadal bemoaned the “ugly and continuous media show” surrounding Spanish tennis, perhaps suggesting he had taken his eye off the ball well before his second-round defeat to Dustin Brown. And Nadal, Ferrer and 42 other Spanish tennis luminaries signed an open letter branding the federation’s leadership chaotic and belligerent.
His position untenable, Escanuela stood down as president last Thursday. He was immediately replaced by Fernando Fernandez-Ladreda, a former vice-president of the Spanish federation, who pledged to “restore institutional and sporting normality” as a matter of priority.
His first move? To sack Leon after what a statement described as “reflection on the benefits” of her continuing as captain for the Russia tie.
It is all an ungodly mess, and things are likely to get worse before they get better. With the Russia showdown looming, no one knows who will captain Spain in Vladivostok. Even less clear is who will play.

Martinez to take over as Spain Davis Cup captain
Conchita Martinez will take over as Spain’s Davis Cup captain for the Group I tie away to Russia in two weeks following Friday’s dismissal of Gala Leon, Spanish media reported yesterday. A former Wimbledon champion who turned to coaching after she retired in 2006, Martinez, 43, leads Spain’s Fed Cup team and will officially take charge of the men’s team as well, the reports said.
Top players including Rafa Nadal and David Ferrer had questioned Leon’s appointment, with some of their main criticisms being that she was under-qualified and did not know the players.
Appointing Martinez may address some of those complaints, although the likes of Nadal and Ferrer appear unlikely to make themselves available for the July 17-19 tie in Vladivostok.