Key Takeaways
- Greg Rusedski believes the Laver Cup has surpassed the Davis Cup in significance, observing that club players at his local gym were exclusively discussing the Federer-founded event: “There was no talk about the Davis Cup.”
- Rusedski highlighted the roving host model and major venue draw, stating that the O2 in London “will be sold out every day and at the moment, is bigger than the Davis Cup.”
- Across 8 contested editions, Team Europe leads Team World 5-3, though Team World has prevailed in 3 of the past 4 meetings heading into the 2026 London tie.
Greg Rusedski highlights growing buzz surrounding Laver Cup
Former world number 4 Greg Rusedski believes the Laver Cup has overtaken the Davis Cup in significance and public interest. While the Davis Cup boasts a history stretching back to 1900, recent alterations—notably the reduction of traditional home-and-away ties—have drawn sustained criticism across the sport.
In contrast, the Laver Cup has gained major momentum since being co-founded by Roger Federer in 2017. Reflecting on conversations at his local gym ahead of the competition in London, Rusedski noted a distinct contrast in public awareness between the two team competitions.
“Well, I was at my local gym this morning and they were talking about the Laver Cup,” Rusedski explained. “There was no talk about the Davis Cup. And these are the people that play tennis on the courts besides the gym. So they’re using the gym, they’re using the tennis courts and everybody’s like, ‘Oh, I’m going this weekend. Is Roger Federer going to be there this weekend at the Laver Cup?’ was the question to me.”
Atmosphere, venue appeal and Davis Cup challenges
Rusedski emphasized that the excitement surrounding high-profile stars gives the Ryder Cup-style event an edge over its historic counterpart.
“I’m looking forward to seeing Carlos Alcaraz, Sascha (Alexander) Zverev, Taylor Fritz,” Rusedski said. “So, it’s got a different dynamic. It just seems like it’s more important at the moment than Davis Cup and that’s where Davis Cup has work to do.”
The tournament returns to London’s O2 arena, a familiar stage that hosted the ATP year-end championships for over a decade and served as the backdrop for Federer’s emotional retirement in 2022. Rusedski pointed out that the roving nature of the event adds to its appeal.
“I think by moving it from city to city as they’re doing, it makes it more special,” Rusedski added. “So obviously, being at London, back at the O2, where we had the end-of-season champs for over a decade, is a great venue. This will be sold out every day and at the moment, is bigger than the Davis Cup.”
Laver Cup tournament history and past winners
Except for 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Laver Cup has staged annual showdowns since launching in Prague in 2017. Team Europe secured victory in the first 4 editions, but Team World has mounted a strong response by claiming 3 of the last 4 titles.
| Year | Location | Laver Cup winner | Score | Highest scorer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Prague | Team Europe | 15-9 | Roger Federer (7) |
| 2018 | Chicago | Team Europe | 13-8 | Jack Sock (6) |
| 2019 | Geneva | Team Europe | 13-11 | Roger Federer and Jack Sock (6) |
| 2021 | Boston | Team Europe | 14-1 | Andrey Rublev (6) |
| 2022 | London | Team World | 13-8 | Felix Auger-Aliassime (6) |
| 2023 | Vancouver | Team World | 13-2 | Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe (6) |
| 2024 | Berlin | Team Europe | 13-11 | Carlos Alcaraz (8) |
| 2025 | Francisco | Team World | 15-9 | Carlos Alcaraz and Alex de Minaur (7) |
Carlos Alcaraz made history on his tournament debut in Berlin in 2024 by generating 8 points, surpassing Federer’s previous single-edition best of 7 points.
For the 2026 clash in London, Andre Agassi captains Team World alongside vice-captain Pat Rafter, fielding Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz, Learner Tien, Brandon Nakashima, Alexander Bublik and Francisco Cerundolo. They face Yannick Noah and Tim Henman’s Team Europe roster of Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Flavio Cobolli, Rafael Jodar, Jakub Mensik and Casper Ruud across September 25-27.
