Brad Gilbert has called for the Laver Cup to be made into a more “official” tournament as the 2026 edition gets underway.

Heading into the first night session on Friday, Team Europe and Team World are locked at 1-1 after Casper Ruud beat Francisco Cerundolo and debutant Brandon Nakashima ousted Jakub Mensik.

While these matches will count in their respective head-to-heads, the Laver Cup participants don’t come away with any ATP Tour ranking points – although each winning team member does pocket $250,000 (£188,775).

Andre Agassi‘s former coach Gilbert is not happy with this current state of affairs, with the former world No 4 calling for ranking points to be brought in at the Laver Cup and Davis Cup, too.

Incidentally, the American felt that it was a farce that at the Next Gen ATP Finals, where entrants play first to four games in each set in an abridged best-of-five format, players’ head-to-head records count.

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He said on the Big T Podcast, “I think it’s a joke that they don’t allow ATP points there; same for the Davis Cup.

“You know what’s a complete joke? In the Next Gen, with the fast four, they count that in your head-to-head. I feel they should have ATP points in this and the Davis Cup.

“I want points and they should count the prize money as your official prize money for the year as well. The ATP is trying to be involved, they should make it more official in my opinion.”

Opponents to this proposal will likely say that as only 12 players play in the Laver Cup, it is giving those competitors an unfair advantage in the rankings as it is a big barrier to entry for the rest of the Tour.

Those who take part clearly take it very seriously and love the team camaderie while critics argue it is a glorified exhibition.

However, the way it weaves together the current generations and all-time greats such as Rod Laver, Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Yannick Noah, and more, is arguably a nice touch.

While Gilbert may want these changes, it seems a bit farfetched for now.

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