SAN FRANCISCO – For the first time, San Francisco is hosting the Laver Cup, a prestigious international tennis tournament founded by Roger Federer.
The event kicked off Friday at Chase Center, transforming the home of the Golden State Warriors into a high-energy tennis venue for the three-day tournament.
What is the Laver Cup?
Dig deeper:
The Laver Cup features six of the top men’s players from Europe, including U.S. Open champion and fan favorite Carlos Alcaraz, facing off against six top players from the rest of the world.
Each member of the winning team receives $250,000 in prize money.
Tennis legend Andre Agassi, who once lived in the Bay Area, is captaining Team World this year.
“To bring tennis back to San Francisco live I think is, is well deserved and certainly over due,” Agassi said. “So, I lived here for a few years. I’m thrilled. This is a great tennis community, it’s just a great market place and I think you’re going to see that reflected in the energy that everybody brings to this beautiful Chase arena.”
Outside the arena, Thrive City was converted into the Laver Cup Fan Zone with interactive activities for attendees.
Tennis fans flock to the event
What they’re saying:
Fans filled the plaza throughout the day Friday, many excited to be part of a high-profile tennis event rarely seen in the Bay Area.
“It was super electric and very, very exciting and you could hear a pin drop as people were serving,” said Dan Rosenstein, who lives in Los Gatos. “The precision and excitement was really, really palpable and you could see that there was a lot of energy for professional tennis here.”
“Seeing Andre Agassi, seeing Roger Federer, I could see that Roger Federer was sitting way far from me but on the other side. But you see all the players together and they’re just having fun and high-fiving and try to win for their team. It was amazing atmosphere, it was beautiful lights, the black court, I just love it,” said Anjali Sawhney of Marin.
Fans traveled from across the country to attend the event, including June Wideman and her daughter, Kelly Stevens, who flew in from Texas.
“It’s just so beautiful and all the water. Of course from Texas we love to see all the beautiful water,” Wideman said.
“Plus it’s 60, 70 degrees here. It was 91 degrees when we left Abilene, so this is like heaven,” Stevens added.
The tournament has also been a major boost for local businesses around Thrive City. The team at Kayah by Burma Love said Friday was likely their busiest lunch service since opening.
At Splash at Thrive City sports bar, general manager Tom Balcom said the weekend is shaping up to be record-setting.
“This is like a Warriors playoff game on steroids, it’s good,” Balcom said. “I just think it’s a great vibe down here. I think the city’s coming back, I think that’s the cool thing, an international tennis tournament, we’ve never had it here in San Francisco, it’s phenomenal.”
Big picture view:
This marks the first time the Laver Cup has been held on the West Coast.
San Francisco has not hosted a top-tier men’s professional tennis event in more than a decade.
Fans said they hope this is the beginning of more elite tennis returning to the Bay Area.
The Source: Original reporting by Betty Yu of KTVU