The Laver Cup is a three-day men’s team competition that puts six players from Europe against six from the rest of the world. It borrows its shape from golf’s Ryder Cup: two squads, courtside captains, a bench that stays involved, and a scoring system engineered so the drama concentrates on the final day.
It is not a national-team championship. Where the Davis Cup runs on country-versus-country ties and federation qualifying pathways, the Laver Cup groups players by region and fills its rosters through a mix of ranking qualification and captain’s discretion — a structure with no close parallel elsewhere in team tennis.
This guide covers the full format: how the teams are assembled, how the twelve matches are scored, what happens if the sides finish level, and where the event sits in the calendar.
What the Laver Cup Is
Named in honour of Rod Laver, the event was created in 2017 by Roger Federer’s management company, TEAM8, in partnership with Tennis Australia and Brazilian businessman Jorge Paulo Lemann.
It is played on a single indoor hard court, always in a roofed arena, and the court itself is black rather than the usual blue or green.
The Laver Cup became an ATP-sanctioned event in May 2019. That status matters more than it appears, for reasons the ranking-points section below sets out.
Team Europe draws from European players. Team World takes everyone else — the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania.
How the Teams Are Chosen
Each side carries six players, and they arrive by two different routes.
Ranking qualifiers
The three highest-ranked players from each region, measured by ATP singles ranking on the Monday after Roland Garros, receive an automatic invitation. If one declines, the invitation passes down the list until three players per side are confirmed.
Captain’s picks
The remaining three places on each team are captain’s picks, and they can be announced at any point up to the start of the US Open. If a captain names a player before Roland Garros, he commits to spending a pick on that player should they fail to qualify by ranking.
Alternates
Each team may name up to two alternates. They travel with the squad but do not play unless called on to replace an injured or withdrawn team member.
The captains
Each side is led by a captain and a vice-captain, drawn from the ranks of former players. The captain chooses the squad’s three picks, sets the daily lineup, and — unusually for tennis — coaches from courtside during matches.
The Format
Twelve matches across three days: nine singles and three doubles.
Play is split into five sessions. Friday and Saturday each carry a day session and a night session, four matches per day. Sunday runs as a single session.
Every match, singles and doubles alike, is best of three sets with ad scoring. If the players split the first two sets, a 10-point match tiebreak decides it in place of a third set. That differs from a standard ATP Tour match and is one reason the event sits somewhere between competition and exhibition.
The Scoring System
This is the part most casual viewers get wrong, and it is the single most distinctive thing about the event.
Match wins are worth different amounts depending on the day.
- Friday: one point per win
- Saturday: two points per win
- Sunday: three points per win
Twenty-four points are available across the twelve matches. The first team to thirteen takes the trophy.
The design is deliberate. Sunday’s four matches carry twelve points — half the total available on the final day alone. A team can dominate Friday and Saturday and still lose, and a trailing team is never mathematically finished until late. That tension is the whole point of the structure.
What Happens at 12-12
If the sides finish level at 12-12 after all twelve matches, a Decider is played: a single doubles set with ad scoring, and a tiebreak if it reaches that.
The Decider has never been required. The closest it came was the inaugural edition in Prague, where the final singles match went to a deciding tiebreak with a place in the Decider on the line.
If a team reaches thirteen points before all twelve matches are played, the remaining matches are not contested. Where only one match is left on Sunday, an exhibition match is staged after the trophy ceremony.
The Rules That Shape a Captain’s Strategy
Several participation requirements constrain how a captain can use his squad, and they explain why selection carries more weight here than the roster names alone suggest.
- Every player must play at least one singles match across the first two days
- No player may play singles more than twice across the three days
- At least four of the six players must appear in doubles
- No doubles pairing may be used more than once, except in the Decider
Lineups are revealed in stages. Friday’s matchups come from a blind draw submitted on Wednesday and announced Thursday. Saturday’s lineup is announced an hour after Friday’s play ends, and Sunday’s an hour after Saturday’s. Captains exchange lineup cards, so each day’s matchups are partly a product of guesswork about the opposite bench.
The net effect is that a captain cannot simply play his two best players six times. Depth is enforced by rule.
Does the Laver Cup Award Ranking Points?
No. No ATP ranking points are awarded, and that has been true throughout the event’s existence.
The more useful answer is what does count. Because the Laver Cup is ATP-sanctioned, results enter players’ official records: wins and losses count toward career win-loss totals and toward official head-to-head records. A Laver Cup meeting between two leading players will sit in their head-to-head for the rest of their careers. For the wider picture, see Tennis Rankings Explained.
That combination — no ranking consequence, permanent record consequence — is unusual, and it draws recurring objections from tennis writers who note that a match decided by a 10-point tiebreak rather than a third set carries the same head-to-head weight as a tour match played under standard rules.
Prize Money
Every participant receives an appearance fee scaled to their ATP singles ranking as of the Monday after Roland Garros.
Each of the six players on the winning team receives $250,000. There is no prize money for the losing side — a structure with no real parallel elsewhere in professional tennis, and one that gives the final day a stake beyond the trophy.
Where and When It Is Played
The Laver Cup is staged annually, roughly two weeks after the US Open, in the gap between the final major and the Asian swing.
The host city alternates: a European venue one year, a city elsewhere in the world the next. Every edition has been played indoors on hard court.
Laver Cup and Davis Cup Compared
| Feature | Laver Cup | Davis Cup |
|---|---|---|
| Teams | Two regional squads, Europe against the World | National teams |
| Selection | Three ranking qualifiers plus three captain’s picks | Federation selection |
| Squad | Six players plus up to two alternates | Nominated by national federation |
| Scoring | Points escalate by day, first to 13 of 24 | Ties decided on matches won |
| Structure | One venue, one weekend, annually | Qualifiers and Finals across the season |
Davis Cup is a national championship with federation pathways. The Laver Cup is a curated team event built around elite matchups and television.
Why the Laver Cup Matters
Even without ranking points, the event produces things the regular tour does not.
- Matchups the draw would rarely generate, since players meet outside the seeding structure
- Elite singles players in doubles, frequently paired with their own rivals
- Courtside coaching from former greats, audible and visible in a way tour tennis does not permit
- A bench dynamic in a sport that is otherwise relentlessly solitary
It also lands at a useful point in the season, late enough that form carries meaning into the indoor swing and the year-end finals.
Laver Cup Results — Season Snapshot
Updated July 2026. Team Europe 5, Team World 3.
| Year | Host | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Prague | Team Europe | 15-9 |
| 2018 | Chicago | Team Europe | 13-8 |
| 2019 | Geneva | Team Europe | 13-11 |
| 2020 | Not held | — | — |
| 2021 | Boston | Team Europe | 14-1 |
| 2022 | London | Team World | 13-8 |
| 2023 | Vancouver | Team World | 13-2 |
| 2024 | Berlin | Team Europe | 13-11 |
| 2025 | San Francisco | Team World | 15-9 |
Boston 2021 is the most one-sided result in the event’s history. The 2020 edition, scheduled for Boston, was postponed a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Björn Borg captained Team Europe and John McEnroe Team World from the inaugural edition through 2024. Yannick Noah took over Team Europe and Andre Agassi Team World from 2025, with Tim Henman and Pat Rafter as vice-captains.
The ninth edition is scheduled for The O2 in London, September 25-27, 2026. Both squads are confirmed — see the 2026 Laver Cup rosters. Los Angeles hosts the tenth at Intuit Dome in September 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Laver Cup a national-team event?
No. Teams are regional — Europe against the rest of the world — not countries. The Davis Cup is the men’s national-team championship.
How many points are needed to win the Laver Cup?
Thirteen, out of 24 available across twelve matches.
Does the Laver Cup award ATP ranking points?
No. But results count toward career win-loss records and official head-to-head records, because the event is ATP-sanctioned.
Is it singles only?
No. Three of the twelve matches are doubles, and at least four of a team’s six players must appear in one.
What happens if the teams are tied?
At 12-12 a deciding doubles set, called the Decider, is played. It has never been needed.
Is the Laver Cup part of the Grand Slam calendar?
No. It sits outside the majors, roughly two weeks after the US Open.
What surface is it played on?
Indoor hard court, always in a roofed arena, on a distinctive black court.
