The Laver Cup is an international indoor hard court men's tennis tournament between two teams: Team Europe and Team World, the latter of which is composed of players from non-European countries. Held annually,[1] the tournament is intended to be the Ryder Cup of the tennis world.[2] It takes place two weeks after the US Open, with the location rotating. 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 world tour for that year.[3][4]
History
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The
O2 Arena in Prague during the first Laver Cup, with an entirely black center court.
[5]The tournament is named after Australian tennis legend Rod Laver, a tennis player widely regarded as one of the greatest in the history of the sport. 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.[6]
The competition pits six top European players against six of their counterparts from the rest of the world. There are 12 matches played over three days (nine singles and three doubles), with the number of points awarded for victories increasing each day. Each player takes the court once or twice for singles, with at least four of the six taking part in doubles. All matches are played as best-of-three, with a 10-point tiebreaker if play goes to a third set.
Former rivals Björn Borg of Sweden (Europe) and John McEnroe of the United States (World team) will serve as captains for the first three editions.[7]
2017: Inaugural edition
The first edition was held in Prague from 22–24 September 2017, at the O2 Arena. Team Europe defeated Team World 15–9.
- Singles rankings as of 18 September 2017
2018
The second edition was held in Chicago from 21–23 September 2018, at the United Center. Team Europe defeated Team World 13–8.
- Singles rankings as of 17 September 2018
2019
The third edition will be held in Geneva from 20–22 September 2019, at the Palexpo.
Records & statistics
Participating nations
| Nation |
Team |
Number of players |
|---|
| 2017 |
2018 |
Total |
| Argentina |
World |
– | 1 | 1 |
| Australia |
World |
1 | 1 | 2 |
| Austria |
Europe |
1 | – | 1 |
| Belgium |
Europe |
– | 1 | 1 |
| Bulgaria |
Europe |
– | 1 | 1 |
| Canada |
World |
1 | – | 1 |
| Croatia |
Europe |
1 | – | 1 |
| Czech Republic |
Europe |
1 | – | 1 |
| Germany |
Europe |
1 | 1 | 2 |
| Serbia |
Europe |
– | 1 | 1 |
| South Africa |
World |
– | 1 | 1 |
| Spain |
Europe |
1 | – | 1 |
| Switzerland |
Europe |
1 | 1 | 2 |
| United Kingdom |
Europe |
– | 1 | 1 |
| United States |
World |
4 | 3 | 7 |
Player statistics
Records
- Player to win seven or more points in a year: Roger Federer (2017)
- Player to win all singles and doubles matches in a year: Roger Federer (2017)
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