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. Held annually since 2017, the tournament is intended to be tennis’ version of the Ryder Cup. 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.
In addition to the guaranteed participation fees which are based upon the players' ATP rankings, each member of the winning team receives $250,000 in prize money, but the tournament itself does not count towards the players' point totals in the ATP Tour for that year. In May 2019, the Laver Cup became an officially sanctioned ATP Tour event, and the Laver Cup and the ATP renewed their agreement in 2024.
Matches during the Laver Cup tournament differ from conventional three-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. 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 play 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.
Trophy The Laver Cup trophy was designed by London design agency Designwerk and hand crafted by London-based Goldsmiths and Silversmiths, Thomas Lyte. The trophy contains a number of distinctive features that directly reflect Rod Laver's career. The trophy is shaped to reflect Laver's famous ‘Rocket’ moniker, while the 200 notches around the rim of the trophy individually signify the number of career titles won by the Australian.
The trophy features four rings at its base, each of which represents Laver's Grand Slam sweeps in 1962 and 1969. Molten metal from part of Laver's New England Merchant Bank Trophy from the US Pro Tennis Championships was also incorporated into the body of the trophy. It took over 400 hours to complete and stands at a height of 66cm and weighs 14kg.
Thomas Lyte produced a series of mini-trophies for the winners of the competition. Mirroring the Laver Cup itself, the half-height miniatures were first awarded to the winners of the 2017 tournament.
Tournament schedule +Laver Cup tournament scheduleDaySessionMatchesStart time (local time)Points per matchPoints available1Day2 singles1 p.m.14Night1 singles, 1 doubles7 p.m.2Day2 singles1 p.m.28Night1 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. Most notably, he won all four major titles in the same calendar year (the Grand Slam) 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. 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. 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. After the 2019 edition, they announced that they would reprise their roles as team captains for a fourth straight edition.
2017: Inaugural edition
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(8–6), [11–9] after coming back from 8–5 down in the final tiebreak, as well as saving a match point at 9–8.
Team EuropeCaptain: Björn BorgPlayerRank Rafael Nadal1 Roger Federer2 Alexander Zverev4 Marin Čilić5 Dominic Thiem7 Tomáš Berdych19 Team WorldCaptain: John McEnroePlayerRank Sam Querrey16 John Isner17 Nick Kyrgios20 Jack Sock21 Denis Shapovalov51 Frances Tiafoe72
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.
Team EuropeCaptain: Björn BorgPlayerRank Roger Federer2 Novak Djokovic3 Alexander Zverev5 Grigor Dimitrov7 David Goffin11 Kyle Edmund16 Team WorldCaptain: John McEnroePlayerRank Kevin Anderson9 John Isner10 Diego Schwartzman14 Jack Sock17 Nick Kyrgios27 Frances Tiafoe40
2019
The third edition was held in Geneva from 20 to 22 September 2019, at the Palexpo. Team Europe defeated Team World 13−11.
Team EuropeCaptain: Björn BorgPlayerRank Rafael Nadal2 Roger Federer3 Dominic Thiem5 Alexander Zverev6 Stefanos Tsitsipas7 Fabio Fognini11 Team WorldCaptain: John McEnroePlayerRank John Isner20 Milos Raonic24 Nick Kyrgios27 Taylor Fritz30 Denis Shapovalov33 Jack Sock210
2021
The fourth edition was held in Boston from 24 to 26 September 2021, at the TD Garden. Team Europe defeated Team World 14−1.
Team EuropeCaptain: Björn BorgPlayerRank Daniil Medvedev2 Stefanos Tsitsipas3 Alexander Zverev4 Andrey Rublev5 Matteo Berrettini7 Casper Ruud10 Team WorldCaptain: John McEnroePlayer Rank Félix Auger-Aliassime11 Denis Shapovalov12 Diego Schwartzman15 Reilly Opelka19 John Isner22 Nick Kyrgios95
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. Team World defeated Team Europe for the first time by a margin of 13−8. Team EuropeCaptain: Björn BorgPlayerRank Casper Ruud2 Rafael Nadal*3 Stefanos Tsitsipas6 Novak Djokovic7 Andy Murray43 Roger Federer* Matteo Berrettini*15 Cameron Norrie*8 Team WorldCaptain: John McEnroePlayerRank Taylor Fritz12 Félix Auger-Aliassime13 Diego Schwartzman17 Frances Tiafoe19 Alex de Minaur22 Jack Sock128
2023
The sixth edition was held in Vancouver from 22 to 24 September 2023, at Rogers Arena. Team World defeated Team Europe 13−2. Team EuropeCaptain: Björn BorgPlayerRank Andrey Rublev6 Casper Ruud9 Hubert Hurkacz16 Alejandro Davidovich25 Arthur Fils44 Gaël Monfils 142 Team WorldCaptain: John McEnroePlayerRank Taylor Fritz8 Frances Tiafoe11 Tommy Paul 13 Félix Auger-Aliassime14 Ben Shelton 19 Francisco Cerúndolo 21
2024
The seventh edition was held in Berlin from 20 to 22 September 2024, at Uber Arena. Team Europe defeated Team World 13–11. Team EuropeCaptain: Björn BorgPlayerRank Alexander Zverev 2 Carlos Alcaraz3 Daniil Medvedev5 Casper Ruud9 Grigor Dimitrov10 Stefanos Tsitsipas12 Team WorldCaptain: John McEnroePlayerRank Taylor Fritz7 Frances Tiafoe16 Ben Shelton17 Alejandro Tabilo22 Francisco Cerúndolo31 Thanasi Kokkinakis78
2025
The eighth edition was held in San Francisco from 19 to 21 September 2025, at Chase Center. Team World defeated Team Europe 15–9. Team EuropeCaptain: Yannick NoahPlayerRank Carlos Alcaraz1 Alexander Zverev 3 Holger Rune11 Casper Ruud12 Jakub Menšík17 Flavio Cobolli25 Team WorldCaptain: Andre AgassiPlayerRank Taylor Fritz5 Alex de Minaur8 Francisco Cerúndolo21 Alex Michelsen32 João Fonseca42 Reilly Opelka62
2026
The ninth edition was held in London from 25 to 27 September 2026, at the O2 Arena. Team Europe defeated Team World 13–5. Team EuropeCaptain: Yannick NoahPlayerRank Alexander Zverev2 Carlos Alcaraz 3 Flavio Cobolli7 Rafael Jódar14 Jakub Menšík15 Casper Ruud17 Team WorldCaptain: Andre AgassiPlayerRank Alex de Minaur9 Taylor Fritz10 Learner Tien13 Brandon Nakashima16 Alexander Bublik21 Francisco Cerúndolo22
Records and statistics Tournament editions YearWinnersScoreRunners-upLocationVenue2017 Team Europe15–9 Team World Prague, Czech Republic O2 Arena2018 Team Europe13–8 Team World Chicago, United States United Center2019 Team Europe13–11 Team World Geneva, Switzerland Palexpo20202021 Team Europe14–1 Team World Boston, United States TD Garden2022 Team World13–8 Team Europe London, United Kingdom The O2 Arena2023 Team World13–2 Team Europe Vancouver, Canada Rogers Arena2024 Team Europe13–11 Team World Berlin, Germany Uber Arena2025 Team World15–9 Team Europe San Francisco, United States Chase Center2026 Team Europe13–5 Team World London, United Kingdom The O2 Arena2027 Los Angeles, United States Intuit Dome
Team statistics Team Matches (points) won LaverCupswon Day 1 (1 point) Day 2 (2 points) Day 3 (3 points) Total Total Total Total Total Team Europe 19 (19) 3 (3) 22 (22) 14 (28) 4 (8) 18 (36) 10 (30) 4 (12) 14 (42) 43 (77) 11 (23) 54 (100) 6 Team World 8 (8) 6 (6) 14 (14) 13 (26) 5 (10) 18 (36) 7 (21) 5 (15) 12 (36) 28 (55) 16 (31) 44 (86) 3
Captains statistics CaptainTeamFirstyearLastyearLaver Cups WonEurope 2017 2024 7 5World 2017 2024 7 2World 2025 2026 2 1Europe 2025 2026 2 1
Players
Records Record Record holder(s) Most appearances 7 Alexander Zverev Most Laver Cups won 6 Alexander Zverev Most total matches played 19 Alexander Zverev Most singles matches won 8 Alexander Zverev Most doubles matches won 9 Jack Sock Most total matches won 11 Alexander Zverev Best win percentage 80% Carlos Alcaraz Most singles points won 20 Alexander Zverev Most doubles points won 19 Jack Sock Most total points won 26 Alexander Zverev Most total points won in a tournament 8 Carlos Alcaraz Most total points won undefeated in a tournament 7 Roger Federer , Alex de Minaur
Statistics