The Laver Cup - the essence of class and tennis brought together by the one and mighty, Roger Federer - returned to London's O2 Arena this weekend. The tournament, founded by the Swiss Hall of Famer, is a lavish team competition between Team Europe and Team World. It was the Old Continents’ player that reclaimed a trophy they had lost to Team World in San Francisco twelve months earlier. The ninth edition was secured early on Sunday when Alexander Zverev took out Learner time in two sets. The German made headlines again: after the best season of his career - with two Grand Slams on his arm - he was also the face of Team Europe’s championship.
Sascha Zverev arrived at The O2 as the most decorated player in Laver Cup history and left as 2026’s leading tennis figure. For the fourth time - following Chicago, Geneva and Boston - Zverev clinched the trophy for Team Europe, where he played alongside Rafael Jódar, Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud. He beat the American youngster, Learner Tien, 7-6(3), 6-3 on Sunday to make it 13-5.
It was Zverev’s seventh Laver Cup appearance: he is now the event's all-time leading singles scorer with eight wins and 26 points. These are not mere numbers or stats: they carry a weight they never quite had before. Zverev had been until his Roland Garros win earlier in June, always overshadowed by Grand Slam winners. It didn’t matter if it was a Masters 1000 trophy or a Laver Cup he lifted, he was never the face of the game. Yet at 29 years of age, the German player has made one of tennis most tremendous come-backs bagging two Grand Slams over the Summer and positioning him as 2026’s most important figure of the sport.
Zverev arrived in London not as a reigning double Grand Slam champion: something that caught tennis legend and Team World captain, Andre Agassi’s attention once again: "Congratulations, Sascha, on the crazy year." While his run has had many critics: neither Grand Slam required him to beat Alcaraz or Sinner, American Grand-Slam winner Andy Roddick praised Zverev as almost no one had done before: "You've changed the entire narrative of your career. You have two slams. You will be a Hall of Famer” he asserted on his podcast.
Many of us remain conflicted on Zverev’s 2026. Yet in five years’ time, we will look back and most probably acknowledge his might.
The Laver Cup arrived under the shadow of the Summer’s most notable absentees: Jannik Sinner - who held world No. 1 before Zverev’s US Open title - never played the event, citing scheduling priorities and, this year, a knee injury that also kept him out of the US Open. Novak Djokovic, at 39, chose to be present in Beijing rather than London - an understandable decision for someone with his physical struggles this year. And Ben Shelton, confirmed for Team World, withdrew days after losing the US Open final.
However, the weekend in London was more than just tennis. We saw players coaching each other - notably Alcaraz on Casper Ruud - and bonding as if they weren’t rivals for a moment. Fun was also on the menu: Saturday's Alcaraz vs. Fritz match, decided 13-11 in a third-set tie-break with match points saved by both players, was widely called the best match in the event's nine-year history. The Laver Cup can entertain.
A special highlight must be made for Rafa Jódar, the 20 years old boy from the Madrid suburbs who made his Laver Cup debut by demolishing Alexander Bublik 6-2, 6-3. Jódar announced himself as the next name on a Spanish production line that shows no signs of slowing and that might produce a Grand Slam contender very soon.
The tournament's competitive concern - without Sinner or Djokovic - was off-script. didn't. At 5-5 going into Saturday's doubles, it was not only alive: it was the reflection that the future of tennis is bright.
