'We can probably fill some nice stadiums': Laver Cup chairman teases fans with possible Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal exhibition match in the future

Rivalries in tennis are nothing new, but there is one rivalry that has trumped the rest. That rivalry was the one between the former world number ones, Switzerland’s Roger Federer and Spain’s Rafael Nadal. The two had incredible success at the highest levels and became the first two players in the history of men’s tennis in the Open era to win 20 or more Grand Slams.

Federer was the first one to retire out of the two, as he called it quits in 2022 after struggling with fitness concerns. Nadal retired from the sport in 2024 after failing to recover from injuries as well. His last appearance was in the Davis Cup for Spain.

Since then, their fans have only watched them compete in old videos. That might change in the near future with the ambitions of the Team8 CEO, Tony Godsick. The current Laver Cup chairman spoke to the Tennis Channel on Friday. He fueled speculation about the possibility of Nadal and Federer facing each other in an exhibition match in the future at the competition.

“I’ve been pressuring him [Federer] a little bit, saying, ‘Come on, people want to see you play again. You can play a couple senior things,’” said Godsick. “We’ve been talking with Rafa a little bit about putting together a tour together. So, Roger just wanted to make sure that his knee was fine. He didn’t want to be totally broken after his career, so he gave it a little bit of time. He’s not there yet but he’s in the gym a lot. I think Rafa’s interested, I don’t want to speak for Rafa. But it would be great to see these guys out there. Plus, there’s a lot of other guys of their generation that I think would be willing to play too. Some of the biggest names are these guys who just retired, so we can probably fill some nice stadiums and venues.”

A historic rivalry 

This is not the first time that there has been speculation about Federer and Nadal facing each other in an exhibition. Previously, Federer, while talking to CNBC, hinted that he was open to the idea of having an exhibition match with Nadal. He stated that there is a lot of 'appetite' for everyone to watch champions of the past and that he is open to thinking about it in the future if an opportunity arises.

“I love Rafa! I played four hours of tennis the other day here in San Francisco and in LA for another hour and half,” said Federer. “Before that, I’ve been playing a lot, so I’ve been trying to keep in good shape. I know that Rafa is also totally open to maybe play some tennis. It sounds terrible, seniors tennis, to us, but maybe we can create a tour, like a ‘Fedal Tour’ or something like that. It would be cool. I think that’s one of the reasons why I started the Laver Cup, to shine a light on the past greats of the game. Maybe with a seniors tour, we’ve had a little of that in tennis…but there’s a lot of appetite for seeing past champions in tennis, as well. I could maybe look into that with Rafa, for sure.”

Federer and Nadal faced each other 40 times in professional tennis, where the Spaniard had a clear advantage with 24 wins and 16 defeats. Their first meeting at the highest level was back in 2004 in the round of 32 of the Miami Open, where Nadal came out on top in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-3. Their last meeting came in the semifinal of Wimbledon 15 years later, where Federer managed to come out on top with a score of 7-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. Interestingly, at one stage, the whole rivalry was very one-sided with Nadal leading it 23-9. However, Federer made a great comeback and won seven out of the last eight matches between the two between 2015 and 2019.