Laver Cup
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]
| Laver Cup | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament information | |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Editions | 6 (2023) |
| Location | European city, world city rotation |
| Surface | Hard (indoor) |
| Draw | 2 teams (Team Europe vs. Team World) |
| Website | https://lavercup.com/ |
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
| Day | Session | Matches | Start time (local time) |
Points per match |
Points available |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Day | 2 singles | 1 p.m. | 1 | 4 |
| Night | 1 singles, 1 doubles | 7 p.m. | |||
| 2 | Day | 2 singles | 1 p.m. | 2 | 8 |
| Night | 1 singles, 1 doubles | 7 p.m. | |||
| 3 | Day | 1 doubles, 3 singles | 12 p.m. | 3 | 12 |
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 and former Davis Cup player 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
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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.[14]
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- Singles rankings as of 18 September 2017
2018
The second edition was held in Chicago from 21 to 23 September 2018, at the United Center. Team Europe defeated Team World 13–8.
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- Singles rankings as of 17 September 2018
2019
The third edition was held in Geneva from 20 to 22 September 2019, at the Palexpo. Team Europe defeated Team World 13−11.
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- Singles rankings as of 16 September 2019
2021
The fourth edition was held in Boston from 24 to 26 September 2021, at the TD Garden.[15] Team Europe defeated Team World 14−1.
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- Singles rankings as of 20 September 2021
2022
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.[16] Team World defeated Team Europe for the first time by a margin of 13−8.
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- Singles rankings as of 19 September 2022
- nr = not ranked
- * = Federer and Nadal only played a doubles match on Day 1, and were replaced by alternates Berrettini and Norrie from Day 2.
2023
The sixth edition was held in Vancouver from 22 to 24 September 2023, at Rogers Arena. Team World defeated Team Europe 13−2.
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- Singles rankings as of 18 September 2023
2024
The seventh edition will be held in Berlin from 20 to 22 September 2024, at Mercedes-Benz Arena.
Records and statistics
Tournament editions
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Location | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |  Team Europe |
15–9 |  Team World |
Prague, Czech Republic |
O2 Arena |
| 2018 | Team Europe |
13–8 | Team World |
Chicago, United States |
United Center |
| 2019 | Team Europe |
13–11 | Team World |
Geneva, Switzerland |
Palexpo |
| 2020 | no competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||
| 2021 | Team Europe |
14–1 | Team World |
Boston, United States |
TD Garden |
| 2022 | Team World |
13–8 | Team Europe |
London, United Kingdom |
The O2 Arena |
| 2023 | Team World |
13–2 | Team Europe |
Vancouver, Canada |
Rogers Arena |
| 2024 | Berlin, Germany |
Mercedes-Benz Arena | |||
Team statistics
| Team | Matches (points) won | Laver Cups won | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 (1 point) | Day 2 (2 points) | Day 3 (3 points) | Total | ||||||||||
| Sgl | Dbl | Total | Sgl | Dbl | Total | Sgl | Dbl | Total | Sgl | Dbl | Total | ||
| Team Europe |
13 (13) | 1 (1) | 14 (14) | 12 (24) | 3 (6) | 15 (30) | 6 (18) | 1 (3) | 7 (21) | 31 (55) | 5 (10) | 36 (65) | 4 |
| Team World |
5 (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
| Captain | Team | Nat | First year |
Last year |
Laver Cups | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Won | |||||
| Björn Borg | Europe |  |
2017 | 2023 | 6 | 4 |
| John McEnroe | World |  |
2017 | 2023 | 6 | 2 |
Records
| Record | Record holder(s) | |
|---|---|---|
| Most appearances | 4 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Roger Federer, John Isner, .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Nick Kyrgios, Jack Sock, Frances Tiafoe,  Alexander Zverev |
| Most Laver Cups won | 4 | Alexander Zverev |
| Most total matches played | 16 | Jack Sock |
| Most singles matches won | 6 | Roger Federer, Alexander Zverev |
| Most doubles matches won | 9 | Jack Sock |
| Most total matches won | 10 | Jack Sock |
| Best win percentage (minimum 6 matches) | 73% | Alexander Zverev |
| Most singles points won | 15 | Roger Federer |
| Most doubles points won | 19 | Jack Sock |
| Most total points won | 20 | Jack Sock |
| Best tournament performance (points W–L) | 7–0 | Roger Federer (2017) |
Statistics
| Player | Team | Nat | First year |
Last year |
Laver Cups | MP | Matches win–loss | Points win–loss | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Won | Sgl | Dbl | Total | W% | Sgl | Dbl | Total | ||||||
| Kevin Anderson | World |  |
2018 | 2018 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 67% | 2–3 | 1–0 | 3–3 |
| Félix Auger-Aliassime | World | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} |
2021 | 2023 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 67% | 4–3 | 5–0 | 9–3 |
| Tomáš Berdych | Europe |  |
2017 | 2017 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0% | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–6 |
| Matteo Berrettini | Europe |  |
2021 | 2022 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 60% | 3–0 | 2–4 | 5–4 |
| Francisco Cerúndolo | World |  |
2023 | 2023 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 100% | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Marin Čilić | Europe |  |
2017 | 2017 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 50% | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–3 |
| Alejandro Davidovich | Europe |  |
2023 | 2023 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0% | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Alex de Minaur | World | |
2022 | 2022 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 50% | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 |
| Grigor Dimitrov | Europe |  |
2018 | 2018 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 50% | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 |
| Novak Djokovic | Europe |  |
2018 | 2022 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 40% | 2–5 | 2–1 | 4–6 |
| Kyle Edmund | Europe |  |
2018 | 2018 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 100% | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Roger Federer | Europe | |
2017 | 2022 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 6–0 | 2–4 | 8–4 | 67% | 15–0 | 3–8 | 18–8 |
| Arthur Fils | Europe |  |
2023 | 2023 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0% | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| Fabio Fognini | Europe | |
2019 | 2019 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0% | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Taylor Fritz | World | |
2019 | 2023 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 75% | 7–1 | 0–0 | 7–1 |
| David Goffin | Europe | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} |
2018 | 2018 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 50% | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 |
| Hubert Hurkacz | Europe |  |
2023 | 2023 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0% | 0–2 | 0–5 | 0–7 |
| John Isner | World | |
2017 | 2021 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 2–5 | 4–1 | 6–6 | 50% | 5–11 | 10–2 | 15–13 |
| Nick Kyrgios | World | |
2017 | 2021 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 1–4 | 3–1 | 4–5 | 44% | 2–9 | 5–2 | 7–11 |
| Daniil Medvedev | Europe |  |
2021 | 2021 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 100% | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Gaël Monfils | Europe | |
2023 | 2023 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0% | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 |
| Andy Murray | Europe | |
2022 | 2022 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0% | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–4 |
| Rafael Nadal | Europe | |
2017 | 2022 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 3–4 | 43% | 4–3 | 2–4 | 6–7 |
| Cameron Norrie | Europe | |
2022 | 2022 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0% | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 |
| Reilly Opelka | World | |
2021 | 2021 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0% | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–4 |
| Tommy Paul | World | |
2023 | 2023 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 50% | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Sam Querrey | World | |
2017 | 2017 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0% | 0–5 | 0–2 | 0–7 |
| Milos Raonic | World | |
2019 | 2019 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0% | 0–5 | 0–0 | 0–5 |
| Andrey Rublev | Europe | |
2021 | 2023 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 50% | 1–2 | 5–4 | 6–6 |
| Casper Ruud | Europe |  |
2021 | 2023 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 100% | 4–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 |
| Diego Schwartzman | World | |
2018 | 2022 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0% | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–3 |
| Denis Shapovalov | World | |
2017 | 2021 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–5 | 17% | 0–4 | 1–4 | 1–8 |
| Ben Shelton | World | |
2023 | 2023 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 100% | 1–0 | 5–0 | 6–0 |
| Jack Sock | World | |
2017 | 2022 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 1–3 | 9–3 | 10–6 | 63% | 1–4 | 19–5 | 20–9 |
| Dominic Thiem | Europe |  |
2017 | 2019 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 67% | 2–3 | 0–0 | 2–3 |
| Frances Tiafoe | World | |
2017 | 2023 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 5–3 | 63% | 5–4 | 5–0 | 10–4 |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas | Europe |  |
2019 | 2022 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 4–3 | 57% | 4–3 | 2–5 | 6–8 |
| Alexander Zverev | Europe | |
2017 | 2021 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 6–1 | 2–2 | 8–3 | 73% | 14–2 | 4–4 | 18–6 |
| Player | Team | Nat | First | Last | App | Won | MP | Sgl | Dbl | Total | W% | Sgl | Dbl | Total |
Players who are no longer active are shown in italics.
Participating nations
| Nation | Team | Number of players | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | Total | Diff. | ||
| Argentina | World | – | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Australia | World | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | 5 | 2 |
| Austria | Europe | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | 2 | 1 |
| Belgium | Europe | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| Bulgaria | Europe | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| Canada | World | 1 | – | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
| Croatia | Europe | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| Czech Republic | Europe | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| France | Europe | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Germany | Europe | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 4 | 1 |
| Greece | Europe | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | 3 | 1 |
| Italy | Europe | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | 3 | 2 |
| Norway | Europe | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Poland | Europe | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Russia | Europe | – | – | – | 2 | – | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Serbia | Europe | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | 2 | 1 |
| South Africa | World | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| Spain | Europe | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Switzerland | Europe | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – | 4 | 1 |
| United Kingdom | Europe | – | 1 | – | – | 2 | – | 3 | 3 |
| United States | World | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 19 | 8 |
| Total | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 74 | 38 | |
See also
References
- "Laver Cup to become an annual event". Laver Cup. 2018-07-10.
- "Laver Cup is our Ryder Cup, says Novak Djokovic". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2018-09-25.
- "How Laver Cup Works". Laver Cup. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
- "In Laver Cup's Debut, Europe Towers Over the World". New York Times. 2017-09-21.
- Clarey, Christopher (2017-09-24). "A Promising Debut for the Laver Cup, Buoyed by Two Timeless Stars". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
- "Tennis: Laver Cup becomes official ATP event". Reuters. 2019-05-24.
- Tignor, Steve. "In Laver Cup, and now ATP Cup, the super-tiebreaker is having its day". Tennis.com. Tennis.com. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- "Tournament Schedule". Laver Cup. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
- "Dynamic Doubles Duo: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal to team up in inaugural Laver Cup". Tennis.com. 2016-08-24.
- "In Spirit Of Ryder Cup, A Competition To Honor Rod Laver". New York Times. 2016-01-29.
- "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.
- "Borg and McEnroe to extend Laver Cup rivalry". Laver Cup. 2019-09-22.
- "Breaking the boundaries: Laver Cup embraces innovation". Laver Cup. 2017-09-24. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
- "Team Europe wins Laver Cup after epic Federer victory". Laver Cup. 2017-09-24. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
- "Laver Cup Boston 2020 moved to 2021". Laver Cup. 2020-04-17.
- "Roger Federer bids emotional farewell in doubles defeat alongside Rafael Nadal". The Guardian. 24 September 2022.
External links
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