By Chris Oddo | Wednesday August 24, 2016
It will be Europe vs. the World in 2017 when Laver Cup is played in Prague. Will you be watching?
Photo Source: Laver Cup
It will be Europe against “the World” in a three-day competition for the ages at Prague in 2017. We’re talking about the latest installment to the already jam-packed tennis calendar, which will feature Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and other tennis luminaries and will take place two weeks after the 2017 U.S. Open.
More: Rehab Going Well for Federer, But He'll Miss New York Badly
The Laver Cup will feature two teams of six players, with four from each team qualifying based on their ATP rankings. The remaining two players will be picked by the two Captains, Bjorn Borg for Europe and John McEnroe for the World.
Federer already says he’s excited to be on Nadal’s team, and looks forward to playing doubles with his fiercest rival. The event will rotate cities each year and will be left off the tennis calendar in years that feature Summer Olympic Games, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes. Badenhausen also writes that there will be no appearances fees for this event, but there will be prize money.
“I’m just really excited about the prospect of me being on the same court, for instance in the doubles, with Rafa,” Federer said. “Or just supporting on the sidelines. Not that I haven’t enjoyed watching him play in the past but now I’ll be really cheering him on to rip one forehand winner after another. So for me to experience that, having Bjorn Borg as our Captain, just the inspirational figure that he is, I think it’s just amazing.”
“It’s going to have to grow, and people have to understand what the concept is,” said Laver. “It’ll be a unique format.”
“Making your country proud of your continent for a change,” Federer added. “That’s going to be interesting.”
Federer’s management company, TEAM8, is the primary owner of the event, with significant ownership shares also held by Tennis Australia and Brazilain billionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann.