\u2022 We will get back to Q&A next week, but I spent the weekend in London for the Laver Cup, so here are some notes and observations from the event.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 This event is not perfect. We can\u2014and some fans will\u2014pick nits. (See below.) Fine. With that said, the Laver Cup is a real tennis triumph and a welcome addition to the calendar and the sport. It does so much, so well. The lineage and linking of generations is not just poignant but helpful to today\u2019s players and their appreciation of history.<\/p>\n
AA knows the game of tennis \ud83c\udfbe https:\/\/t.co\/tcFcAa1E4g<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Boris Becker (@TheBorisBecker) September 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The showcase for players\u2014how many fans watched and didn\u2019t come away with an enhanced regard for, say, Learner Tien or Rafael J\u00f3dar or Brandon Nakashima?\u2014is the kind of marketing that money can\u2019t buy. Players are fully bought in and committed not just to winning but to the team concept. This has become an event where brands and tennis chiefs come to mingle and do business. In keeping with Roger Federer, it\u2019s a buttoned-up operation, from its broadcast production to its social media game to the uncommonly helpful volunteer corps. Total win for the sport.<\/p>\n \u2022 Team Europe\u2014which won the first four events\u2014got back on the board this year, beating Team World. Both teams had plenty of standout performances, but this doubled as a Carlos Alcaraz showcase. Between his irrepressible tennis and his irrepressible personality, it was\u2014and is\u2014the perfect stage for tennis\u2019s most magnetic player. Talent plus commitment plus joy is quite the equation.<\/p>\n \u2022 For a few players, this doubled as career mouthwash, so to speak. Casper Ruud is in the throes of a meh year, having just missed the U.S. Open due to injury. He won a pair of matches for Team Europe. Alex de Minaur has also had a middling year. His come-from-behind takedown of Alexander Zverev will rank among the highlights of his 2026. J\u00f3dar struggled to win games at the U.S. Open. In London, he showed why he\u2019s moved up in the rankings at roughly the rate of a point per day over the past year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2022 There were also setbacks. Zverev lost to de Minaur, choking while serving for the match. Because of the format, he returned a few hours later, won in doubles, and then returned on Sunday to close out the singles.<\/p>\n \u2022 A few of you wrote in, noting\u2014as many have done in the past\u2014the absence of women. Honestly, I\u2019m of two minds here. Yes, for optics, but also for competitive balance, it would be great to have women in the field. Note how many American women fill the sport\u2019s upper ranks. Apart from the Americans, Alexandra Eala, Elena Rybakina and Naomi Osaka would represent Team World. On the other hand, Europeans have won the past six majors.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the same time, the Laver Cup is a business, not a charity. If there were a business case for a women\u2019s equivalent (the Chris Evert\u2013Martina Navratilova Cup? The Venus-Serena Cup?), no one is preventing an investor or promoter from running with the concept.<\/p>\n \u2022 The Laver Cup will celebrate its 10th anniversary in Los Angeles next year, with the event at the Inuit Dome<\/a>, a fantastic venue. (Insert Uncle Dennis joke here. Too soon?) Perhaps after that, the next Team World host site will be in Asia, or at least outside of North America for the first time.<\/p>\n \u2022 Some nits? The black court is arresting, and the speed is way too slow. (Says one Hall of Famer, \u201cAt least on clay, the ball bounces.\u201d) So many players, from Alexander Bublik to Flavio Cobolli to Taylor Fritz, had a hard time penetrating the court, both on serve and in rallies. The distinction between Europe vs. the World is silly and artificial. ATP involvement is unnecessary when no points are at stake, and playing decisions are discretionary.<\/p>\n \u2022 Chiefs from the four majors attended not just to schmooze, but to conduct business. Some agenda items: putting forth a slate of player candidates for the Grand Slam Player Advisory Council.<\/a> (Will players vote on these names\u2014predictable ones, though neither Alcaraz nor Jannik Sinner seems interested\u2014or will the four majors try to appoint the panel?) Will the majors try to reignite the Premier Tour idea from a few years ago? (Yes, but likely down the road, perhaps at Indian Wells, not in 2026.) Will the majors step in and try to invest in a beleaguered WTA? (Perhaps, but it will help if management cuts costs, some of the seven-figure executive salaries get slashed, and the CVC private equity albatross is somehow confronted.)<\/p>\n \u2022 If Bublik had continued to represent Russia (his country of birth), he would have been on Team Europe. Kazakhstan, though, gave him Team World designation.<\/p>\n \u2022 I had the good fortune of spending some time with Andre Agassi, who reiterated that if he commits to something, he\u2019s all in. Add Laver Cup captain to that bill of particulars. Again, he was thoroughly invested, tailoring messages to players, agonizing about lineups and tactics, conferring with his coaching staff. On the other side of the pleather couch, Yannick Noah was decidedly more comfortable, engaged and vocal than he had been in 2025.<\/p>\n \u2022 John McEnroe remarked that Alcaraz, if he so chooses, could be the world\u2019s No. 1 doubles player. He wasn\u2019t exaggerating. On Friday, Alcaraz shared the court with Bublik, Fritz and Jakub Men\u0161\u00edk; none were slouches. To even the most casual fan, it was clear that Alcaraz possessed a celestial level of talent\u2014the hands, reaction time, joie de vivre that suggested he was making art, not performing work\u2014the others lacked.<\/p>\n \u2022 I posted this to X on Saturday:\u00a0<\/p>\n Heresy time: @lavercup<\/a> playing a first-to-ten tiebreak in lieu of a decisive set is something tennis ought to consider broadly. Said no fan today: \u201cYou know, I wish they would have played that out.\u201d Plenty of entertainment. Plenty of tennis. And matches stayed in the 2:00 range.<\/p>\n \u2014 Jon Wertheim (@jon_wertheim) September 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The responses were not favorable. We don\u2019t have to agree on everything, but facts have to matter. The sport has an injury problem. (What a pity that Jack Draper, the best British player since Andy Murray, was not available and has, in fact, shut it down for the year.) Tennis has a physicality problem. Tennis has a duration problem, as most recently evidenced by a match ending at 3:33 a.m. local time during the U.S. Open. Complaints are easy to come by, solutions less so. But many constituents are thinking about changes, both for player health and fan enjoyment. Jim Courier has floated the idea of doing away with Ad scoring. The new Australian Open chief suggested<\/a> (and then walked back) the idea of no best-of-five matches. You may agree or disagree, but the idea that this is idle media complaining, or that nothing needs changing, doesn\u2019t align with reality or the conversation on the ground.<\/p>\n \u2022 We often talk about Fritz\u2019s tennis nerdiness and his level of retention, perception and attention to detail. It was on full display at the Laver Cup. So much so, his teammates\u2014opponents the rest of the year\u2014turned to him for mid-match guidance. I asked Tim Henman which athlete served as Team Europe\u2019s de facto player-coach. His response? Ruud.<\/p>\n \u2022 Zverev won the U.S. Open, played Davis Cup and competed last weekend in London; otherwise, it was a relaxing September. Now he’ll keep burying the accelerator as he pursues his first No. 1 ranking, which he should earn by year\u2019s end, given both his form and Sinner\u2019s iffy status. Love, hate or feel ambivalent about the guy, we must all agree on this: He is the ATP\u2019s 2026 MVP.<\/p>\n \u2022 It\u2019s strange that Sinner has never availed himself to the Laver Cup, especially when he had committed to the Six Kings Slam.<\/p>\n \u2022 By accident or design, it was refreshing to attend a sporting event that wasn\u2019t tainted by sports gambling sponsors, signage and gimmicks.<\/p>\n \u2022 Roastmaster Andre Agassi:<\/p>\n \u2022 We had a great time doing the Served podcast pregame events. Thanks to everyone who came out. Speaking for Andy Roddick, we appreciate the in-person support, the happy opportunity to meet so many of you and hearing your suggestions. (More Andy Murray\u2014got it.)<\/p>\n HAVE A GOOD WEEK EVERYONE, WE\u2019LL BE BACK WITH Q&A NEXT WEEK.<\/p>\n
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