Roger Federer’s agent has given rare insight into the future of the Laver Cup, amid criticism that it has failed to fulfil its ambition of becoming a truly global event and that its men-only format excludes fans of the WTA Tour.
The exhibition event was first held in 2017 after being brainstormed by Federer himself and his management company, TEAM8.
Since then, the Laver Cup has been held in the US on three occasions and in Europe on five occasions.
In 2027, Los Angeles will host the event at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, from September 24-26.
The lack of geographical variety has fuelled criticism from some tennis fans, with the event having sought to reach as many tennis fans as possible through its unique format.
In 2024, a Laver Cup press release stated that it aims to “[maximise] interest in this wonderful sport at new destinations around the world.”
This year’s edition, held at the O2 Arena in London, features the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud and Alex de Minaur.
Tony Godsick, Federer’s long-time agent, rejected the criticism and explained why bringing the exhibition to Asia, South America and Africa may be more difficult than many people realise.
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“In any event or in any sort of project or platform, you’ve got to innovate, change, adapt, and that’s what we’re doing,” he began during a London press conference.
“Sure, we’d love to bring this to Africa, would love to bring it to South America. We’ve got to find an indoor arena that can actually handle us for a period of time that has all the specifications.”
Godsick continued: “I mean, I have become an expert in lights. I never thought I’d have to learn about lights. There are arenas, we have wanted to go to cities, and Steve [Zacks] – Steve has a lot of frequent-flyer miles, this guy.
“But he’s gone several times to a specific city where there is an arena that’s too big and an arena that’s too small. The answer they gave us, We will build you a new one. And they did. It’s too big.”
He continued: “Then we have to look at how do you put the specific lights that we need in order to present the Laver Cup the way we’ve presented it.
“So that, all of a sudden, becomes something that is – I don’t mind investing in the event, I don’t mind losing money, but it becomes so cost-prohibitive that at some point you say to yourself, Well, you know, it doesn’t work at the moment.
“But if you see all around the world in some different places, they are building some state-of-the-art arenas, facilities, areas, entertainment areas, and the good news is we are looking at all of them. We hope to be able to go visit other markets at some point, but it’s not as easy as we thought when we conceptualised it.”
Aside from geographical concerns, many detractors believe the event would be further enhanced if it featured both male and female players, similarly to the United Cup, which takes place prior to the Australian Open.
“Why fix something that isn’t broken? This is a men’s event, but there are already mixed competitions and joint tournaments. We have the United Cup, the Hopman Cup and World TeamTennis. The mixed format already exists,” Godsick argued.
“We never set out to become the Ryder Cup, although we were inspired by it because we saw how rivals could become teammates. It works in golf, and they have a hundred years of experience on us. We are gradually approaching our tenth edition.”
Godsick continued: “We can continue making small changes and innovating, but we are not thinking about changing the format or the composition of the teams.
“There are always things that can be improved. We are obsessed with the details and with providing an extraordinary experience for the players, fans and media.”
