Laver Cup 2024 format: All you need to know about the unique rules at the Roger Federer-backed event
The Laver Cup is a unique team event in the world of tennis that pits the best players from Europe against the best players from the Rest of the World against each other. The event was the brainchild of Swiss legend Roger Federer, and it saw its inception back in 2017.
The Laver Cup's unique format and playing rules make it more special. Both teams have six players each who are invited as per their ATP rankings post the French Open, along with certain selections reserved for the team Captains.
The competition is played over three days (September 20-22) and consists of both singles and doubles matches. In singles, no single player from one team can play more than two times, and in doubles, no single combination from a particular team can play more than once.
The scoring system for the event is unique. For Day 1 matches, the winning team gets 1 point per win, 2 points per win on Day 2, and 3 points per win on Day 3. This makes a total of 24 points available, out of which the team to reach 13 points wins the event.
The matches, both singles and doubles, are best of three-set matches, with the third set being a 10-point tiebreaker. If the scores are tied 12-12 on Day 3, an additional doubles match is played as the decider, which is a single set with a traditional 7-point tiebreaker. However, in the six editions of the event, the deciding doubles match was never required.
Team World looking to secure a hattrick of wins at the Laver Cup 2024
The first four editions of the Laver Cup were won by Team Europe. All members of the "Big Four"- Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray have played for Team Europe at the Laver Cup and contributed to the wins. However, Team World changed the narrative when they won the title back in 2022, the last event of Federer's illustrious career.
Team World backed up the 2022 victory by defending the title last year, winning with a dominant scoreline of 13-2. The team consisting of Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, Francisco Cerundolo, Tommy Paul, and Felix-Auger Aliassime, won all the matches barring one. For Team Europe, the only win came on day 2 when Casper Ruud defeated Tommy Paul.
This year, Team Europe will have a lineup featuring five of the top 10 players in the World. They include Carlos Alcaraz (World No. 3), Alexander Zverev (World No.2), Daniil Medvedev (World No. 5), Casper Ruud (World No. 9), and Grigor Dimitrov (World No. 10). The sixth member of the team is World No. 12 Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Team World will have the same team as last year, barring Tommy Paul and Felix Auger-Aliassime. They have been replaced by Thanasi Kokkinakis and Alejandro Tabilo.