Just few days
away from the start of the
Laver Cup, we bring you everything you need to know
to follow the tournament.
The Laver
Cup will begin on September 22, and it will be three days of competition
between Team Europe and Team World in the tournament's sixth edition, this time
taking place in Vancouver, Canada.
The
tournament was initiated by former tennis player Roger Federer, who has been
promoting it since 2017. However, this will be the first time he won't be
competing, although he will have a special participation on the first day as a
tribute to the 20-time Grand Slam champion.
The
"Laver Cup" is named after the legendary Australian tennis player Rod
Laver. This team-based tournament gathers the world's top tennis players into
two teams: one representing Europe and the other comprising players from the
rest of the world.
How are the
teams formed?
Each team
is led by a captain, and in this case, the captains are two of the most
significant figures in tennis history: John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, who will be
directing Team World and Team Europe, respectively.
What is the
format?
The first
two days consist of both daytime and nighttime sessions, while the third day
only includes a daytime session. There are four matches per day, consisting of
three singles matches and one doubles match, all played in the best-of-three
sets format.
If the
first two sets end in a tie, a tie-break to 10 points will determine the
winner.
The points
awarded to each team vary depending on the day. On Friday, victories are worth
one point, on Saturday, two points, and on Sunday, three points. Since there
are a total of 24 points available, the first team to reach 13 points becomes
the champion. If the teams are tied at 12-12, a fifth and decisive match will
be played on the final day to determine the tournament's champion.
Who
participates in the tournament?
Three out
of the six team members for each side are determined based on their individual
ATP rankings published on the Monday after Roland-Garros in June. The captains
are responsible for selecting the other three members of their respective
teams, known as the "captain's picks."
Team Europe
Team Europe
will include Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud, Hubert Hurkacz, Alejandro Davidovich
Fokina, Arthur Fils, and Gael Monfils. This will be the first time without
Federer, Rafael Nadal, or Novak Djokovic. Team Europe has won four out of the
five previous editions.
Team World
Team World
will consist of Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Tommy
Paul, Francisco Cerundolo, and Ben Shelton. The current champions surprised
everyone in 2022 by defeating Team Europe for the first time, and they aim to
defend their title.