Tennis: Everything you need to know about the Laver Cup in Berlin

The Laver Cup brings the tennis elite to Berlin for three days. But who is behind the competition, for which there are not even any world ranking points? And what is on offer around it?

How does the Laver Cup work?

Between 20 and 22 September, “Team Europe” will compete against “Team World” in tennis at the Berlin Arena at Ostbahnhof. Six players each were nominated for the teams by team captains Björn Borg (Europe) and John McEnroe (World).

There will be twelve games in total. Three singles pairings and one doubles match will be played each day in best-of-three mode. A team needs 13 points to win overall. Points are awarded on a staggered basis: a win on Friday will earn you one point, two on Saturday and three on Sunday. The exact translations will be announced shortly.

Of the six Laver Cups, Team Europe won four. However, Team World won the last two years. Germany’s number one, Alexander Zverev, was part of all four of Team Europe’s victories, making him the competition’s record player.

Which stars will be in Berlin?

Spectators can look forward to many prominent names. Superstars Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev will be playing for Europe, among others. The German Alexander Zverev will have a home game in Berlin. However, Rafal Nadal had to cancel his participation in the Laver Cup. “I am really disappointed to have to tell you that I will not be able to take part in the Laver Cup in Berlin next week,” the Spaniard was quoted as saying on the event’s X-channel last week.

Team World included Australian Alex de Minaur and American Taylor Fritz, who recently reached the final of the US Open.

The complete team line-ups:

Team Europe: Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, Grigor Dimitrov

Team World: Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, Alejandro Tabilo, Frances Tiafoe

Who is behind the Laver Cup?

The Laver Cup was initiated in 2017 by the then active, now former world-class player Roger Federer (43) and his manager Tony Godsick. The tennis associations of the USA and Australia have also been involved from the start, especially since the competition was named after the Australian tennis legend Rod Laver (86). Laver is considered one of the best players of all time and is the only one who managed to win all four Grand Slam tournaments twice in one year in his career.

The Laver Cup is not an ATP tournament, nor is it an international tennis association tournament, which is why players cannot collect world ranking points there. Instead, each player will receive a €250,000 prize money in addition to the secret entry fee.

What does the supporting program have to offer?

The Laver Cup started on Thursday, September 19th with public training sessions for both teams. “Team Europe” will be on the court from 12 to 1 p.m. “Team World” will train between 1 and 2 p.m. This sporting unit, which is of secondary importance, will be accompanied by live music and interviews with players and coaches. Tickets are required for access to the “Practice Day” (see “How much do tickets cost?”).

The so-called “Fan Zone” on the square in front of the arena at Ostbahnhof is free of charge. There, with the support of the Berlin-Brandenburg Tennis Association, you can test your skills on mini tennis courts and have your serve speed measured. In addition to food trucks, tennis providers will also be displaying their products. Anyone who wants to can grab one of the deck chairs available and watch the parties on a large screen. An interactive tennis “Hall of Fame” will also be presented.

How much do the tickets cost?

Tickets can be purchased via the organizer’s website [lavercup.com] and costs for the “Practice Day” between 24.83 euros and 37.56 euros.

The prices for the competition days are higher. A few tickets for individual sessions, and therefore two games each, are still available and start at around 260 euros. The cheap tickets, each costing around 63 euros, are already sold out. As are almost all tickets for the entire tournament weekend. Only those who have invested at least 1,900 euros still have a chance here.

Who will take over the tournament?

The TV channel Eurosport will broadcast all games free to air. The rbb will report on the current program, both on television, on rbb|24 Inforadio and on rbb24.de.

Broadcast: rbb|24 Inforadio, 17.09.2024, 19:15