Laver Cup Explained

Laver Cup
Logo Size:230
Editions:6 (2023)
Location:European city, world city rotation
Surface:Hard (indoor)
Draw:2 teams (Team Europe vs. Team World)
Website:https://lavercup.com/

The Laver Cup is an international indoor hard court men's team tennis tournament between Team Europe and Team World, the latter of which is composed of players from all other continents except Europe. Usually held annually since 2017,[1] the tournament is intended to be the Ryder Cup of the tennis world.[2] It normally takes place two weeks after the US Open, with the location rotating between various host cities (that usually do not have an ATP Tour event); alternating yearly between European cities and cities in the rest of the world.[3] In addition to the guaranteed participation fees which are based upon the players' ATP rankings, each member of the winning team gets $250,000 in prize money, but the tournament itself does not count towards the players' point totals in the ATP Tour for that year.[4] [5]

In May 2019, the Laver Cup became an officially sanctioned ATP Tour event.[6] Matches during the Laver Cup tournament differ from conventional 3-set matches played on the ATP Tour; in the event when the match is tied at one set all, a 10-point “match tiebreak” is played instead of a deciding final set (this is to ensure that all matches conclude within a reasonable timeframe of approximately two hours, whilst enabling four matches to be completed within a match day – that begins either at 1 pm local time for Days 1 and 2, or at 12 noon local time for the final Day 3 of the tournament).[7] In addition, unlike conventional ATP tour matches, coaching of match participants is commonly applied courtside by teammates and team captains.

Format

The competition pits six top European players against six of their counterparts from the rest of the world. Each team is led by a team captain, who is a tennis legend. Three of the six players qualify based on their ATP singles ranking as of the Monday following the French Open in June. Three are "captain's picks", announced by the start of the US Open, in August.

There are 12 matches played over three days (nine singles and three doubles). Each match victory on day 1 is worth one point, on day 2 two points, and on day 3 three points. The first team to claim 13 points wins the tournament. Therefore, the winning team can only be decided on day 3.

There are six singles matches on the first two days (3 each day) and all six team players plays one of those matches. No player plays singles more than twice. At least four of the six team members take part in doubles. So, one team player (doubles specialist) could play all three doubles matches with three other team players. All matches start as two sets, a 10-point “match tiebreak” is played if the match is level at one set all.

In the event both teams are tied at 12 points each, a fifth match known as “The Decider” is played on day 3, whereby one set is played as a regular set with ad scoring and a tiebreak.

In the event that only one match is required on Sunday (last previous occurrence was at the 2023 Laver Cup), an exhibition match is played following the trophy ceremony.[3]

Tournament schedule

Laver Cup tournament schedule[8] !Day!Session!Matches!Start time
(local time)!Points
per match!Points
available
1Day2 singles1 p.m.14
Night1 singles, 1 doubles7 p.m.
2Day2 singles1 p.m.28
Night1 singles, 1 doubles7 p.m.
3Day1 doubles, 3 singles12 p.m.312

History

The tournament is named after Australian Rod Laver, a tennis player widely regarded as one of the greatest in the history of the sport (He won all four major titles in the same calendar year, winning the Grand Slam twice in singles, in 1962 and 1969; the latter remains the only time a man has done so in the Open Era.) Roger Federer's management company, TEAM8, Brazilian businessman Jorge Paulo Lemann, and Tennis Australia partnered to create the Laver Cup.[9] Roger Federer was inspired to create a tennis team tournament based on the biennial Ryder Cup golf tournament, which features the best golfers from the United States playing against the best golfers from Europe.[10] However, Laver Cup differs as it is purely an invitational event based on past historical performances; selection of (and the playing agreement with) the tournament participants are not automatically based from the highest ranked players of the recent ATP Tour world rankings.

Former rivals Björn Borg of Sweden (Team Europe) and John McEnroe of the United States (Team World) were announced to serve as captains for at least the first three editions.[11] After the 2019 edition, they announced that they will reprise their roles as team captains for a fourth straight edition.[12]

2017: Inaugural edition

See main article: article and 2017 Laver Cup.

The first edition was held in Prague from 22 to 24 September 2017, at the O2 Arena. Team Europe defeated Team World 15–9. Despite the 6 point score difference, this was a very tight battle from day 1. In the last match, Roger Federer defeated Nick Kyrgios 4-6 7-6 (6) 11-9, after coming back from 8-5 down in the final tiebreak, as well as saving a match point at 9-8.[13]

Team Europe
Captain: Björn Borg
width=180PlayerRank
Rafael Nadal1
Roger Federer2
Alexander Zverev4
Marin Čilić5
Dominic Thiem7
Tomáš Berdych19
Team World
Captain: John McEnroe
width=180PlayerRank
Sam Querrey16
John Isner17
Nick Kyrgios20
Jack Sock21
Denis Shapovalov51
Frances Tiafoe72

2018

See main article: article and 2018 Laver Cup.

The second edition was held in Chicago from 21 to 23 September 2018, at the United Center. Team Europe defeated Team World 13–8.

Team Europe
Captain: Björn Borg
width=180PlayerRank
Roger Federer2
Novak Djokovic3
Alexander Zverev5
Grigor Dimitrov7
David Goffin11
Kyle Edmund16
Team World
Captain: John McEnroe
width=180PlayerRank
Kevin Anderson9
John Isner10
Diego Schwartzman14
Jack Sock17
Nick Kyrgios27
Frances Tiafoe40

2019

See main article: article and 2019 Laver Cup.

The third edition was held in Geneva from 20 to 22 September 2019, at the Palexpo. Team Europe defeated Team World 13−11.

Team Europe
Captain: Björn Borg
width=180PlayerRank
Rafael Nadal2
Roger Federer3
Dominic Thiem5
Alexander Zverev6
Stefanos Tsitsipas7
Fabio Fognini11
Team World
Captain: John McEnroe
width=180PlayerRank
John Isner20
Milos Raonic24
Nick Kyrgios27
Taylor Fritz30
Denis Shapovalov33
Jack Sock210

2021

See main article: article and 2021 Laver Cup.

The fourth edition was held in Boston from 24 to 26 September 2021, at the TD Garden.[14] Team Europe defeated Team World 14−1.

Team Europe
Captain: Björn Borg
width=180PlayerRank
Daniil Medvedev2
Stefanos Tsitsipas3
Alexander Zverev4
Andrey Rublev5
Matteo Berrettini7
Casper Ruud10
Team World
Captain: John McEnroe
width=180PlayerRank
Félix Auger-Aliassime11
Denis Shapovalov12
Diego Schwartzman15
Reilly Opelka19
John Isner22
Nick Kyrgios95

2022

See main article: article and 2022 Laver Cup.

The fifth edition was held in London from 23 to 25 September 2022, at the O2 Arena.

This tournament marked the retirement of Roger Federer.[15] Team World defeated Team Europe for the first time by a margin of 13−8.

Team Europe
Captain: Björn Borg
width=180PlayerRank
Casper Ruud2
Rafael Nadal*3
Stefanos Tsitsipas6
Novak Djokovic7
Andy Murray43
Roger Federer*
Matteo Berrettini*15
Cameron Norrie*8
Team World
Captain: John McEnroe
width=180PlayerRank
Taylor Fritz12
Félix Auger-Aliassime13
Diego Schwartzman17
Frances Tiafoe19
Alex de Minaur22
Jack Sock128

2023

See main article: article and 2023 Laver Cup.

The sixth edition was held in Vancouver from 22 to 24 September 2023, at Rogers Arena. Team World defeated Team Europe 13−2.

Team Europe
Captain: Björn Borg
width=180PlayerRank
Andrey Rublev6
Casper Ruud9
Hubert Hurkacz16
Alejandro Davidovich25
Arthur Fils44
142
Team World
Captain: John McEnroe
width=180PlayerRank
Taylor Fritz8
Frances Tiafoe11
13
Félix Auger-Aliassime14
19
21

2024

See main article: article and 2024 Laver Cup.

The seventh edition will be held in Berlin from 20 to 22 September 2024, at Uber Arena.

Team Europe
Captain: Björn Borg
width=180PlayerRank
Carlos Alcaraz3
4
Daniil Medvedev5
Casper Ruud8
Stefanos Tsitsipas11
156
Team World
Captain: John McEnroe
width=180PlayerRank
Alex de Minaur10
Taylor Fritz12
Ben Shelton13
Tommy Paul14
Frances Tiafoe20
Alejandro Tabilo22

Records and statistics

Tournament editions

Yearwidth=120Winnerclass=unsortableScorewidth=120Runner-upLocationwidth=100Venue
2017bgcolor=lightblue Team Europe15–9 Team World Prague, Czech RepublicO2 Arena
2018bgcolor=lightblue Team Europe13–8 Team World Chicago, United StatesUnited Center
2019bgcolor=lightblue Team Europe13–11 Team World Geneva, SwitzerlandPalexpo
2020align=center bgcolor=f5f5f5 colspan=5
2021bgcolor=lightblue Team Europe14–1 Team World Boston, United StatesTD Garden
2022 Team World13–8bgcolor=lightblue Team Europe London, United KingdomThe O2 Arena
2023 Team World13–2bgcolor=lightblue Team Europe Vancouver, CanadaRogers Arena
2024 Berlin, GermanyUber Arena
2025 San Francisco, United StatesChase Center

Team statistics

TeamMatches (points) wonLaver
Cups
won
Day 1 (1 point)Day 2 (2 points)Day 3 (3 points)Total
width=50width=50width=50 style="border-right: 1pt black solid"Totalwidth=50width=50width=50 style="border-right: 1pt black solid"Totalwidth=50width=50width=50 style="border-right: 1pt black solid"Totalwidth=50width=50width=50 style="border-right: 1pt black solid"Total
align=left style="border-right: 1pt black solid" Team Europe13 (13)1 (1)14 (14)12 (24)3 (6)15 (30)6 (18)1 (3)7 (21)31 (55)5 (10)36 (65)4
align=left style="border-right: 1pt black solid" Team World5 (5)5 (5)10 (10)6 (12)3 (6)9 (18)4 (12)5 (15)9 (27)15 (29)13 (26)28 (55)2

Captains statistics

CaptainTeamFirst
year
Last
year
Laver Cups
Won
Europe2017202464
World2017202462
World2025
Europe2025

Players

Records

Record Record holder(s)
Most appearances align=center width=40 4 Roger Federer, John Isner, Nick Kyrgios,
Jack Sock, Frances Tiafoe, Alexander Zverev
Most Laver Cups won align=center 4 Alexander Zverev
Most total matches played align=center 16 Jack Sock
Most singles matches won align=center 6 Roger Federer, Alexander Zverev
Most doubles matches won align=center 9 Jack Sock
Most total matches won align=center 10 Jack Sock
Best win percentage align=center 73% Alexander Zverev
Most singles points won align=center 15 Roger Federer
Most doubles points won align=center 19 Jack Sock
Most total points won align=center 20 Jack Sock
Best tournament performance align=center 7–0 Roger Federer

Statistics

width=140 rowspan=2Playerwidth=60 rowspan=2Teamwidth=30 rowspan=2width=45 rowspan=2First
year
width=45 rowspan=2Last
year
Laver Cupswidth=30 rowspan=2 style="border-right: 1pt black solid"Matches win–lossPoints win–loss
Wonwidth=45width=45width=50Totalwidth=45width=45width=50Total
World2017202241161–39–310–663%1–419–520–9
Europe2017202243126–02–48–467%15–03–818–8
Europe2017202444116–12–28–373%14–24–418–6
World2017202140122–54–16–650%5–1110–215–13
World201720244282–33–05–363%5–45–010–4
World202120233262–22–04–267%4–35–09–3
World201720214091–43–14–544%2–95–27–11
World201920243243–10–03–175%7–10–07–1
Europe201920243273–11–24–357%4–32–56–8
Europe201720243272–11–33–443%4–32–46–7
Europe202120232161–12–23–350%1–25–46–6
World202320241131–02–03–0100%1–05–06–0
Europe202120222152–01–23–260%3–02–45–4
Europe201820222151–21–12–340%2–52–14–6
Europe202120243133–00–03–0100%4–00–04–0
World201820181031–11–02–167%2–31–03–3
Europe201720192232–10–02–167%2–30–02–3
Europe202120241111–00–01–0100%2–00–02–0
World201720213060–31–21–517%0–41–41–8
Europe201720171121–00–11–150%1–00–31–3
World202220241121–00–11–150%1–00–21–2
Europe201820181121–00–11–150%1–00–21–2
Europe201820181121–00–11–150%1–00–21–2
World202320241120–11–01–150%0–21–01–2
World202320231111–00–01–0100%1–00–01–0
Europe201820181111–00–01–0100%1–00–01–0
Europe202320231030–10–20–30%0–20–50–7
World201720171030–20–10–30%0–50–20–7
Europe201720171130–10–20–30%0–20–40–6
World201920191020–20–00–20%0–50–00–5
Europe202220221020–10–10–20%0–10–30–4
World202120211020–10–10–20%0–10–30–4
Europe202320231020–10–10–20%0–10–20–3
World201820223130–30–00–30%0–30–00–3
Europe202320231020–10–10–20%0–10–10–2
Europe202220221010–10–00–10%0–20–00–2
Europe202320231010–10–00–10%0–10–00–1
Europe201920191110–10–00–10%0–10–00–1
Europe202420240000–00–00–00–00–00–0
World202420240000–00–00–00–00–00–0
Player Team First Last Won Total Total

Participating nations

NationTeamNumber of players
2017201820192021202220232024Total
bgcolor= FFD1DC align=leftArgentinabgcolor= FFD1DC World1 1 1 1 4 2
bgcolor= FFD1DC align=leftAustraliabgcolor= FFD1DC World1 1 1 1 1 1 6 2
bgcolor=lightblue align=leftAustriabgcolor=lightblue Europe1 1 2 1
bgcolor=lightblue align=leftBelgiumbgcolor=lightblue Europe1 1 1
bgcolor=lightblue align=leftBulgariabgcolor=lightblue Europe1 1 1
bgcolor= FFD1DC align=leftCanadabgcolor= FFD1DC World1 2 2 1 1 7 3
bgcolor=FFD1DC align=leftChilebgcolor= FFD1DC World1 1 1
bgcolor=lightblue align=leftCroatiabgcolor=lightblue Europe1 1 1
bgcolor=lightblue align=leftCzech Republicbgcolor=lightblue Europe1 1 1
bgcolor=lightblue align=leftFrancebgcolor=lightblue Europe2 2 2
bgcolor=lightblue align=leftGermanybgcolor=lightblue Europe1 1 1 1 1 5 1
bgcolor=lightblue align=leftGreat Britainbgcolor=lightblue Europe1 2 3 3
bgcolor=lightblue align=leftGreecebgcolor=lightblue Europe1 1 1 1 4 1
bgcolor=lightblue align=leftItalybgcolor=lightblue Europe1 1 1 3 2
bgcolor=lightblue align=leftNorwaybgcolor=lightblue Europe1 1 1 1 4 1
bgcolor=lightblue align=leftPolandbgcolor=lightblue Europe1 1 1
bgcolor=lightblue align=leftRussiabgcolor=lightblue Europe2 1 1 4 2
bgcolor=lightblue align=leftSerbiabgcolor=lightblue Europe1 1 2 1
bgcolor=FFD1DC align=leftSouth Africabgcolor=FFD1DC World1 1 1
bgcolor=lightblue align=leftSpainbgcolor=lightblue Europe1 1 1 1 2 6 3
bgcolor=lightblue align=leftSwitzerlandbgcolor=lightblue Europe1 1 1 1 4 1
bgcolor= FFD1DC align=leftUnited Statesbgcolor= FFD1DC World4 3 3 2 3 4 4 23 8
Total12 12 12 12 14 12 12 86 40

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Laver Cup to become an annual event. 2018-07-10. Laver Cup.
  2. News: Laver Cup is our Ryder Cup, says Novak Djokovic. Sky Sports. 2018-09-25.
  3. Web site: How Laver Cup Works. 2021-09-23. Laver Cup.
  4. Web site: In Laver Cup's Debut, Europe Towers Over the World. New York Times. 2017-09-21.
  5. News: A Promising Debut for the Laver Cup, Buoyed by Two Timeless Stars. Clarey. Christopher. 2017-09-24. The New York Times. 2017-09-27. 0362-4331.
  6. Web site: Tennis: Laver Cup becomes official ATP event. Reuters. 2019-05-24.
  7. Web site: Tignor . Steve . In Laver Cup, and now ATP Cup, the super-tiebreaker is having its day . 2022-09-24 . Tennis.com . en.
  8. Web site: Tournament Schedule . 2022-09-24 . Laver Cup.
  9. Web site: Dynamic Doubles Duo: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal to team up in inaugural Laver Cup. Tennis.com. 2016-08-24.
  10. Web site: In Spirit Of Ryder Cup, A Competition To Honor Rod Laver. New York Times. 2016-01-29.
  11. Web site: What is the Laver Cup, why are Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal playing and how excited should we be about it?. The Telegraph. 2017-09-20.
  12. News: Borg and McEnroe to extend Laver Cup rivalry. Laver Cup. 2019-09-22.
  13. Web site: 2017-09-24 . Team Europe wins Laver Cup after epic Federer victory . 2023-09-28 . Laver Cup . en-US.
  14. Web site: Laver Cup Boston 2020 moved to 2021. Laver Cup. 2020-04-17.
  15. News: Roger Federer bids emotional farewell in doubles defeat alongside Rafael Nadal. The Guardian. 24 September 2022.