Find out all you need to know as 12 of the world’s best men’s players compete in the annual Europe vs ‘Rest of the World’ Laver Cup showdown, live on Sky Sports September 25-27.
Earlier this year, Sky Sports agreed a deal with Trident8 to show all three days of the Laver Cup from London’s O2 Arena this month.
Here’s everything you need to know about tennis’ exciting team event…
How does the Laver Cup work?
The event is played over three days, with four matches on the first two days consisting of three singles contests and one doubles. Six players from Team Europe and six from Team World make up the event.
Matches on Friday are worth one point, Saturday two points and Sunday three points. The winner is the first team to reach 13 points.
If the points are level at 12-12 at the end of all matches, there will be a fifth match on Sunday (The Decider).
All matches are best-of-three sets, which progress to a deciding tiebreak if the opening two sets are shared.
In terms of how the individual matches are decided, a blind draw is used to confirm Friday’s clashes.
For Saturday’s matches, one team picks from a blind draw first, and the other team then selects their players to face those drawn out.
For Sunday, the reverse then takes place as the other team selects from a blind draw, and the opposing team picks which players they want to play thereafter.
Each player must play in at least one singles contest over the first two days, and no player can play in more than two singles matches.
Like golf’s Ryder Cup, the venue alternates between Europe and elsewhere per each edition. It has been held annually since 2017.
The 2026 Laver Cup is being staged at London’s O2, while the 2027 event will be hosted at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Los Angeles.
Alcaraz has played in the Laver Cup in 2024 and 2025, and will do so again in 2026
Which players are competing in the 2026 Laver Cup?
Frenchman Yannick Noah and the USA’s Andre Agassi are the respective captains. Britain’s Tim Henman is Team Europe’s vice-captain, while Australia’s Pat Rafter is Team World’s vice-captain.
Team Europe lineup: Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, Germany’s Alexander Zverev, Italy’s Flavio Cobolli, Spain’s Rafael Jodar, Czech Republic’s Jakub Mensik and Norway’s Casper Ruud.
Team World lineup: USA’s Ben Shelton, Australia’s Alex de Minaur, USA’s Taylor Fritz, USA’s Learner Tien, Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik and Argentina’s Francisco Cerúndolo.
Who are the defending Laver Cup champions?
In 2025, Team World beat Team Europe 15-9 at the Chase Center in San Francisco.
Team World’s Taylor Fritz of the USA lifts the 2025 Laver Cup after defeating Carlos Alcaraz’s Team Europe
The first day saw Europe 3-1 ahead after singles wins for Ruud over Reilly Opelka and Mensik over Alex Michelsen, and doubles victory for Alcaraz and Mensik over Fritz and Michelsen.
The second day saw domination from Team World, however, as they won all four contests to take a 9-3 lead – De Minaur beating Zverev, Fritz beating Alcaraz, Cerundolo beating Holger Rune and a doubles pairing of De Minaur and Michelsen beating Ruud and Rune.
On the final day, a doubles pairing of Alcaraz and Ruud beat Michelsen and Opelka, and Alcaraz beat Cerundolo in singles, but it wasn’t enough as De Minaur beat Mensik and Fritz beat Zverev to wrap up victory.
Henman: Laver Cup a unique opportunity for watching tennis fans
Team Europe vice-captain and Sky Sports Tennis expert Tim Henman said:
“It’s a unique opportunity to see the best players in the world coming together to represent Team Europe and Team World at the iconic O2 arena.
“Fans can expect plenty of drama, passion and rivalry, both on and off the court.
“It’s great news the Laver Cup will be on Sky Sports.”
Team Europe vice-captain and Sky Sports Tennis expert Tim Henman has called the Laver Cup ‘unique’
Watch on Sky Sports Tennis
Hosted by presenter Gigi Salmon, Sky Sports will broadcast all 12 matches across day and night sessions on Friday September 25 and Saturday September 26, followed by a single concluding session on Sunday September 27.
There will also be a reporter on the ground keeping fans abreast of all the news from the weekend’s action.
Alongside broadcast rights, fans in the UK and Ireland will also be able to catch up on all the action with clips and highlights available across Sky’s digital and social platforms.
Stream tennis with no contract on NOW and the Sky Sports App. You can also watch the Laver Cup at The O2 in London from 25-27 September live on Sky Sports.