Fresh from his recent triumph at the US Open, German tennis star Alexander Zverev helped Team Europe secure victory over Team World in the Laver Cup at the O2 in London. It was the ninth edition of the event, which began in 2017 and has been played in various cities including Prague, Chicago, San Francisco and Berlin. It was the sixth triumph for Team Europe, with Zverev’s singles win over Learner Tien of the USA on day three proving enough to push the Europeans to the magic points total of 13.
The final score of 13-5 was perhaps flattering to Team Europe given they’d won seven matches to Team World’s three. But the format scoring system means that matches on the first day earn one point for a win, with those on the second day earning two points and those on the final day earning three points. But even taking that into account, Team Europe very much deserved the victory. Casper Ruud, Rafael Jodar, and Carlos Alcaraz all won singles matches for the home team, while Alcaraz combined with Czech player Jakub Menšík and Zverev teamed up with Ruud to win their doubles games.
Despite his two victories at the event, things didn’t go completely to plan for the world number two Zverev. He lost his opening singles match to Australia’s Alex de Minaur. The Aussie world number 10 has never made it past the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam, but he found his form to beat the US Open champion, edging the tiebreak after each player had won a set.
Which Players Competed for Each Team?
While the Laver Cup doesn’t have the same kind of general appeal as the Grand Slams or probably even the ATP Finals, it does appear to be growing in stature. It’s a long way from becoming the “Ryder Cup of Tennis”, as was the initial intention, certainly in terms of how well it grabs the attention of general sports fans. But it is at least moving in that direction.
At the 2026 event, played in London from 25th to 27th September, Team Europe was captained by French former player Yannick Noah, with Britain’s Tim Henman as his vice-captain. Team World, meanwhile, brought out the big guns, with Andre Agassi as captain and Aussie Pat Rafter as his vice-captain. Here are the players who made the cut for each of the teams:
| Team Europe | Team World | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Zverev | Germany | Alex de Minaur | Australia |
| Carlos Alcaraz | Spain | Taylor Fritz | United States |
| Flavio Cobolli | Italy | Learner Tien | United States |
| Rafael Jódar | Spain | Brandon Nakashima | United States |
| Jakub Menšík | Czech Republic | Alexander Bublik | Kazakhstan |
| Casper Ruud | Norway | Francisco Cerúndolo | Argentina |
| Arthur Fery* | United Kingdom | Ignacio Buse* | Peru |
*Denotes alternate/reserve player
How the 2026 Event Played Out
Crowning the champs🏆
The Laver Cup has returned to Team Europe.#LaverCup #TennisUnrivaled pic.twitter.com/ABQ3LvbeCx
— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) September 27, 2026
The opening day of the 2026 Laver Cup featured three singles matches and one doubles match, with the winners of each earning one point for their team. Norway’s Casper Ruud faced Argentina’s Francisco Cerúndolo in the opener, with the Norwegian winning on a tiebreak. The second match also went to a tiebreak after being all square after two sets, with United States player Brandon Nakashima getting the better of Czech Republic’s Jakub Menšík. With the scores level at 1-1, it was time for the Spanish players to make their mark for Team Europe. First, Rafael Jódar took down Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik in two sets, then Carlos Alcaraz teamed up with Menšík to win their doubles match against Bublik and Taylor Fritz, also in straight sets.
With the score at 3-1 to Europe, there was all to play for on Day Two (when each win was worth two points). Team World got off to a flyer, with Tien and De Minaur winning their singles matches against Flavio Cobolli and Zverev, respectively, putting them 5-3 ahead. But Carlos Alcaraz came to the home side’s rescue again, edging a tiebreak victory over Taylor Fritz. As mentioned earlier, Zverev and Ruud then combined to take a doubles win and move Team Europe back into the lead, at 7-5.
With 24 points available in total, the first team to make it to 13 takes the title. And, with Day Three matches worth three points each, Team Europe wasted no time in propelling themselves to victory. Cobolli and Menšík earned a 7-5, 6-3 triumph over De Minaur and Fritz, before Zverev made amends for his singles defeat the previous day by beating Tien 7-6, 6-3. The final two matches (Alcaraz vs De Minaur, and Jódar vs Fritz) were therefore not played, which can’t have been well received by the O2 crowd.
In terms of individual performances, Alcaraz and Ruud both won two out of two, while Zverev and Menšík each won two and lost one. At the other end of the scale, it was a very disappointing event for Taylor Fritz and Alexander Bublik, both of whom lost all three of their matches.