Laver Cup 2026: Dates, Teams and Format at The O2
The ninth Laver Cup runs September 25 to 27, 2026 at The O2 in London, on an indoor hard court laid on the arena floor. Yannick Noah captains Team Europe (Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Flavio Cobolli, Rafael Jodar, Jakub Mensik, Casper Ruud) against Andre Agassi's Team World (Alex de Minaur, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Learner Tien, Alexander Bublik, Tommy Paul). Matches are worth one point on Friday, two on Saturday and three on Sunday, first team to 13 wins. Europe leads the series 5-3 after Team World won in San Francisco in 2025. Sources: Laver Cup, The O2, Yahoo Sports.
The context
The Laver Cup 2026 takes over The O2 in London from September 25 to 27, the ninth edition of the exhibition-turned-fixture that Roger Federer’s team built in 2017 on the Ryder Cup template. An indoor hard court goes down on the arena floor, the lighting is theatrical, the benches are close enough to be part of the broadcast, and for three days tennis pretends to be a team sport.
Yannick Noah has a young Team Europe. Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz anchor it, with Flavio Cobolli, Jakub Mensik, Rafael Jodar and Casper Ruud, the last of them confirmed on July 28. That is a squad with two genuine top-of-the-game singles players and four who are somewhere on the way up, which puts a lot of weight on how Noah handles Friday, the cheapest day, and how much he asks of Alcaraz on Sunday, the most expensive one.
Andre Agassi’s Team World is the more settled group: Alex de Minaur, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Learner Tien and Alexander Bublik. Four Americans in a six-man team means a bench that already knows each other’s doubles habits, and Bublik is the sort of player this format was designed for, unpredictable enough to win a match nobody expected on a day when it counts triple.
The scoring is the entire design. Friday matches are worth one point, Saturday two, Sunday three, and the first team to thirteen takes the cup. A team can lose Friday 3-1 and still be comfortably alive, which is why the event so rarely dies early. If the score reaches 12-12, a single deciding doubles match settles it, with no draw available. Nine singles and three doubles over three days, no ranking points, and a trophy named after Rod Laver, the only man to complete a calendar-year Grand Slam in the Open era.
Team Europe leads the series 5-3. That number would have looked absurd in 2019, when Europe seemed unbeatable, and it is the reason the event survived the departure of Federer, Nadal and the original novelty. London last hosted in 2022, the week Federer played his final professional match, doubles alongside Nadal. Coming back to the same arena four years later, with a European team whose oldest player is not yet 30, is a reasonable test of whether the Laver Cup works on the tennis alone.
People also ask
True or false?
It is ATP-sanctioned but awards zero ranking points, which is the whole reason the format can afford to be this loose. (ATP Tour)
Federer retired at the 2022 Laver Cup, in this same arena. He co-created the event and shows up as a founder, not as a player. (Laver Cup)
Europe swept the early years, then Team World turned it around. The series stands 5-3 to Europe after eight editions. (Laver Cup)
The O2 staged the 2022 edition, the one where Federer played his last match. 2026 is its second time. (The O2)
The announced six are Zverev, Alcaraz, Cobolli, Jodar, Mensik and Ruud. Sinner is not among them and skipped the US Open with a knee injury. (Laver Cup, ATP Tour)
Unlike golf's Ryder Cup, a 12-12 score triggers a deciding doubles match. Somebody has to reach 13. (Laver Cup)