Laver Cup Must Overcome Missteps To Survive

Less than five days before the first ball is hit in San Francisco, box office tickets are on sale for the Laver Cup. A few years ago passionate fans viewed the Team World vs Team Europe event as a growing spectacle; then star Nick Kyrgios called it his “favorite week of the year” and visibly cried after losing a decisive match. The Laver Cup now stares mediocrity in the mirror. Scheduling errors, format mistakes, and lack of innovation are causing the once promising event to fade. Changes should be made to reinvigorate this once promising and still potential filled event.

Early Years

Beginning with the inaugural 2017 Laver Cup in Prague, the stars came to play. Roger Federer, Raphael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic all played for Team Europe within the first two years. Doubles superstar Jack Sock, along with Kyrgios, helped anchor the early Team World teams. The novelty of John McEnroe captaining Team World and rival Bjorn Borg leading Team Europe gave the event cache and credibility.

Team Europe dominated the outcome of the event for four years, but the individual scores were often close. Wild team celebrations after match wins and tears and slammed rackets after losses showed players came to win. The Laver Cup was no exhibition and rowdy crowds helped create a wild atmosphere. Within three years, the event had claimed its stake in the consciousness of tennis fans and looked like it was here to stay. Now, the cracks that developed in the early years are clearly visible and the event needs adjustments.

Who is Playing?

As part owner of the event, Roger Federer came to play and his aura brought others. He even used Laver Cup doubles as his goodbye to professional competition. Now, rosters are like merry-go-rounds. Only last week, Team World star Frances Tiafoe was scheduled to play while world #8 Alex de Minaur was not expected because of Davis Cup play in Australia last weekend. Now, Tiafoe is out and de Minaur is in. Ben Shelton was in, now out as was Tommy Paul.

Likewise, top 10 players Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Lorenzo Mussetti and others are not playing. Meanwhile, world #62 Reilly Opelka will play for Team World. Nothing against Opelka, but if the Laver Cup is going to be a top event, Top 10 players need to play. Laver Cup organizers need to make it happen.

One move to lessen demand on players is to change the Laver Cup to once every two years event. There would be more look forward to while asking less of players by holding it every other year. The Laver Cup can still hold its spot as an ATP Tour event, but only in the years it is held. If every other year is not enough to get the stars, the date may need to move from its current “two weeks after the US Open” slot.

Doubles Counts, Get Doubles Stars

Laver Cup doubles counts for 25% of Laver Cup points. The atmosphere for late night doubles on Friday and Saturday night can be raucous, downright electric. At one point, American Jack Sock led all Laver Cup players in match wins because of his doubles skills. John McEnroe specifically added him to the roster to try to grab the critical doubles points.

While it is fun to see the world’s biggest stars, Laver Cup captains should appropriately prioritize doubles. The unique rules around doubles pairings provide great opportunities to mix doubles specialists with traditional megastars. Still, there is not one player from the World’s Top 50 doubles players on either roster. No manager would go to the World Series without a relief specialist. If passion for winning is part of the Laver Cup, value the dubs.

Scoring is Stale

Within a few years, it was clear the contrived “three-point matches on Day 3” gave too much weight to the final day. The four matches on Friday are worth one point each; Saturday’s four matches count for two points each. In order to guarantee Sunday’s relevance, the four matches on Sunday are worth three points. This means that a team can lose every match on Friday and Saturday and still win the Laver Cup.

While economics and ticket sales dictate that Sunday needs this weighting, changes should be made. Friday’s format should be adjusted to have eight rapid fire matches worth .5 points each. Eight game pro-sets or a version of “Fast 4” scoring could be used. Crowds would love this format for a day. Laver Cup lovers like the comparison to golf’s Ryder Cup, and the Ryder Cup has different scoring and formats on Friday and Saturday compared to Sunday. The Laver Cup should, too.

Still, Laver Cup is Worth The Effort

Despite the criticisms and the loss of luster, the Laver Cup is worth reinvigorating. Anyone who has been inside a Laver Cup arena during a match tie-breaker on a Friday or Saturday knows the excitement is like none other in tennis. The crowds, the teammates on the bench, and the captains all add to the drama. It can be fixed and it is worth making some moves before it is too late.

Hopefully new TeamWorld captain Andre Agassi and Team Europe captain Yannick Noah will begin to ignite new growth and passion this weekend in San Francisco. Some new views and new voices are a good start as the Laver Cup faces an uncertain future. Rod Laver is a great ambassador for the game, let this event evolve to honor him the way it should.