As is the case for Team World, Team Europe brings new leadership to this year’s event, scheduled to place in San Francisco from September 19-21. Gone is the Swedish duo of Bjorn Borg and Thomas Enqvist. In come Hall of Famer Yannick Noah and British great Tim Henman.
Noah relishes these kind of compressed, high-energy, collaborative situations—as evidenced by the passion he brought when he captained France to victories in both Davis Cup and Fed Cup (now Billie Jean King Cup).
“My approach as a captain has always been to listen to the player,” said Noah. “These guys are younger than my children, I’m just trying to give them unconditional love, not to judge them.”
Henman for years was the leading man of Great Britain’s Davis Cup team, compiling a record of 40-14.
The Team Europe squad consists of three familiar names and three newcomers. The star attraction: world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, fresh off his run to victory at the US Open.
While Alcaraz may be fatigued from a three-month stretch that saw him reach three major singles finals, as we’ve seen repeatedly, his competitive zeal is boundless. The chance to play matches indoors that consist of a tiebreaker in lieu of a third set will surely pose little physical challenge for the Spaniard. And as a basketball aficionado, Alcaraz is certain to be excited about the chance to strike his share of big shots inside San Francisco’s Chase Center, the same venue where another generational genius, Steph Curry, has long been the Golden State Warriors’ franchise player (fittingly, Curry was courtside for Alcaraz’s win in the US Open final).
Alexander Zverev remains ranked third in the world, but was beaten in the third round of the US Open by an inspired Felix Auger-Aliassime. A high-energy event like Laver Cup might well be a good way for Zverev to rekindle his competitive spirit. Certainly, that was the case back in 2018 when Zverev, seeking to clinch the Laver Cup for Team Europe versus Kevin Anderson, received something all tennis players dream of: a pep talk from Roger Federer. Federer’s passion and advice played a key role in Zverev going on to win that match.
Two other members of this year’s roster, Casper Ruud and Holger Rune, share little other than names that are pronounced nearly the same—and second round losses at this year’s US Open. Ruud is a Laver Cup regular, playing on Team Europe since 2021. Now ranked 12, Ruud has built a solid, usually reliable career, highlighted by appearances in three Grand Slam singles finals and 13 ATP singles titles. Most recently, he won the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid.