LAVER CUP: A TRIBUTE TO THE BEST IN TENNIS
Geneva, 18 September 2023 – Launched in 2017 with Rolex as Founding Partner, the Laver Cup is the annual three-day men’s team competition pitting six top European players against their counterparts from the rest of the world in a format similar to The Ryder Cup golf event. This year’s edition takes place from 22–24 September at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada.
A highlight of the tennis calendar, the Laver Cup provides a unique opportunity for the world’s best players to be guided by a legend of the sport as a non-playing captain and showcase another side of sporting excellence by raising their game for the good of the collective – a team spirit that echoes the core values and philosophy of Rolex.
The competition takes place every September, two weeks after the conclusion of the US Open, the final Grand Slam® tournament of the season. The first four editions took place in Prague, Chicago, Geneva and Boston, respectively, with Team Europe winning on each occasion. Team World broke this run of success and recorded its maiden victory in London in 2022.
The 2023 line-up of players taking part in the Laver Cup includes two members of the Rolex family; Stefanos Tsitsipas, who holds a winning record in his three appearances at the event; and Taylor Fritz, who returns after helping Team World to its breakthrough title last year.
Rolex Testimonee and 20-time Grand Slam singles champion Roger Federer was pivotal in creating the Laver Cup, which honours fellow Testimonee Rod Laver. Universally acknowledged as one of the game’s greatest competitors, the Australian remains the only player to twice win the men’s singles title at all four Grand Slam tournaments in a calendar year.
By launching the competition, Federer has succeeded in bringing together four generations of champions for the three-day tournament. With Laver as the figurehead of the innovative competition, Rolex Testimonee and 11-time Grand Slam champion Björn Borg has captained Team Europe since the event’s inception, rekindling his famous rivalry at the turn of the 1980s with John McEnroe, who has captained Team World. Both will reprise their roles as captains for the 2023 edition.
THREE DAYS, FOUR GENERATIONS, 12 MATCHES
Each team consists of six players, with three qualifying automatically based on their ATP ranking and the others selected by the respective captains. The competition is packed into three intense days, with three singles matches and one doubles match played daily. The 12 matches follow a best-of-three-sets format, with a 10-point super tiebreaker played in the event of split sets.
The unique nature of the Laver Cup means not only are the greatest names in tennis honoured but it also helps secure the future of the sport. As Bjorn Borg says: “Only the Laver Cup can reunite so many great players in one place. It’s the best thing that could ever happen to tennis. It’s the future of tennis.”
On court, team spirit makes for extraordinary moments, exemplified when Federer played doubles alongside Novak Djokovic in 2018, and Rafael Nadal in 2017 and 2022. Last year’s edition of the Laver Cup in London provided a fitting farewell for the Swiss legend, who gave so much to the sport and epitomized tennis excellence.
Selected in 2019, 2021, 2022 and again in 2023, Rolex Testimonee Stefanos Tsitsipás captured the essence of the Laver Cup when he said: “It’s a real honour to be here in the company of these talented players. So I aim to give back on court what I’ve gained from being with these champions. I want to play my best tennis and put on a real show for the crowd.”
Rolex’s association with the Laver Cup as Founding Partner is part of an enduring relationship with tennis that began at Wimbledon in 1978. Since then, Rolex has enjoyed a special connection with the sport which has a global appeal and whose history continues to be written with new challenges, new stories and new champions.
The Swiss watchmaker’s presence in the game has grown and flourished, permeating every level. United in the pursuit of precision and perpetual excellence, Rolex partners all four Grand Slam tournaments and has joined forces with a range of organizations, players and premium events on the men’s and women’s tours, as well as the leading international team contests. Rolex also helps to foster the development of tennis by strengthening its commitment to young talent and the most gifted athletes whose exceptional feats have brought glamour and greatness to the sport.
