Watch What is the Laver Cup (explainer)

The Laver Cup, named after tennis legend Rod Laver, is a relatively new tournament that was first introduced in September 2017. The tournament brings together some of the best tennis players in the world, splitting them into two teams – Team Europe and Team World. The Laver Cup is a three-day event and is played over a weekend.

The tournament is unique in many ways. First, it is celebrated indoors, unlike most other tennis tournaments that are played outdoors. Second, team events are rare in tennis, and the Laver Cup is, therefore, a breath of fresh air. In this tournament, players are able to interact with each other, cheer each other on, and play doubles together. Third, the Laver Cup operates under a different scoring system. While most tennis tournaments follow a best-of-three sets format, the Laver Cup is played over three days, with each day's play consisting of four singles followed by a doubles match. The winner is the team that reaches 13 points first – each match is worth one point on Friday, two points on Saturday, and three points on Sunday.

The tournament is best known for the star-studded lineups that it assembles. The inaugural event in 2017 was graced by the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Alexander Zverev, and Nick Kyrgios, among others. The 2018 event saw some of the biggest names in tennis, including Novak Djokovic, Kevin Anderson, and John Isner. The 2019 Laver Cup was no different, with the likes of Federer, Nadal, Zverev, and Isner returning, and promising newcomers like Stefanos Tsitsipas added to the mix.

The way players are selected for the tournament is a little different from the norm. The top six European players in the world rankings at a given time are automatically selected for Team Europe, while the remaining spots are filled through a captain's pick. Meanwhile, the top six players in the world rankings from the rest of the world are selected for Team World, with the captain filling out the remaining spots.

Captaincy of the teams also adds excitement to the tournament. Team Europe is led by Bjorn Borg, a Swede who is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. On the other hand, John McEnroe, an American and another one of the sport's all-time greats, captains Team World.

The Laver Cup is more than just a friendly tournament; it is a competition that counts towards the ATP rankings. The Laver Cup offers 250 points to each player on the winning team and 125 points to each player on the losing team.

Interestingly, the tournament was named after Rod Laver. Laver is one of the most successful tennis players to ever play the game, having won 11 Grand Slam titles in the 1960s. He is also the only player to ever win the Grand Slam twice – once in 1962 and again in 1969. Laver is widely considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time and was instrumental in the development of the tournament.

The Laver Cup also has charitable ambitions. All proceeds from the event go to the Roger Federer Foundation, which supports education and sports programmes for disadvantaged children in Africa.

The tournament has been a huge success, having sold out for the first two editions. The event has been praised for its atmosphere, which is reminiscent of a Davis Cup tie. Fans from both teams dress up in team colours and wave flags, creating an electric atmosphere similar to that of a football match. The players themselves feed off the energy of the crowd, with even the calmer players getting visibly fired up.

All in all, the Laver Cup is a tournament that offers a unique and exciting experience for tennis fans. With the world's best players representing their respective teams, and the tournament incorporating elements of team play within a typically individual sport, the Laver Cup is an event that will only continue to entertain and engage tennis fans for years to come.