Tennis' Ryder Cup or glorified exhibition? Assessing Federer's Laver Cup dream nine years in

[p]The Ryder Cup needs no introduction. Golf's team tournament between the USA and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/europe-laver-cup/CWKm6rFr/"]Europe[/a] is one of the biggest events in sport, producing immense drama and attracting enormous audiences every two years.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/federer-roger/GrsQDFC0/"]Federer[/a] is among the millions of people who have fallen in love with it, and it's largely that love that inspired him to begin a quest to give tennis an equivalent back in 2013, as he has admitted multiple times.[/p][p]Four years later, the Laver Cup was introduced to the world, and it has taken place every two years since then, pitting the best players in Europe against those from the rest of the world.[/p][p]The fact that the event is still going strong almost a decade in is something of a win in itself for Federer, Rod Laver and everyone else involved in its creation, but just how successful has it been in becoming tennis' Ryder Cup?[/p][h2]No exhibition to the players[/h2][p]Perhaps the worst thing that could have happened in Federer's quest to create a Ryder Cup equivalent would be for the players competing in it to just take the paycheck and treat it as a glorified exhibition, but from day one, they've taken it extremely seriously.[/p][p][b]For evidence, you need only open up YouTube, put on some highlights from any dramatic and important match from the tournament over the years, and watch the big points. The emotions speak for themselves.[/b][/p][embed guid="c2b72e0b-f3e8-4940-a455-d0ce18db32af" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2jtwUbnTkk" social-type="youtube" /][p]Federer was always going to take it seriously for obvious reasons, and I wondered if the rest of the players were just following his lead and/or being swept up by his passion when he was playing in the event, but that passion has remained on the court since he retired from tennis at the 2022 edition.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alcaraz-garfia-carlos/UkhgIFEq/"]Carlos Alcaraz[/a] said in the pre-tournament press conference on Thursday that spending time with and playing alongside his rivals, and coaching and being coached by them, brings him joy - many players have said similar things over the years, and the on-court action backs it up. They really do care about being part of a team and helping that team win.[/p][p][b]Comments from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/world-laver-cup/C29ghPpq/"]Team World[/a] captain Andre Agassi and renowned maverick [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bublik-alexander/t0WN9vR6/"]Alexander Bublik[/a] at the press conference really highlighted this. The latter said he'd be dialling down the showmanship and underarm serves for the tournament after talks with the American, who himself emphasised that he's been urging the Kazakh to sometimes play things safer.[/b][/p][p]For the captains and players, the Laver Cup is serious business.[/p][p]The big problem is, a lot of fans don't feel the same way.[/p][h2]The problem with Team World[/h2][p]While there's a lot of passion on court at the Laver Cup, that same passion is much less prevalent away from it, and I think a big reason for that is Team World.[/p][p]Being between Europe and the USA, the Ryder Cup consists of two teams passionately supported by two large factions: Europeans and Americans. History, cultural clashes and national pride in general have allowed for a real rivalry to develop, and have made fans desperate for their faction to beat the other.[/p][image alt="American fans at the 2025 Ryder Cup" id="801e7eb6-1cae-4b79-9c01-c6755c8d9691" credit-line="Photo by DAVID CANNON / DAVID CANNON COLLECTION / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP" guid="e9fc716b-2e7d-4d7e-bfdc-c80c00125945" original-width="6000" original-height="4000" /][p][b]The Laver Cup pits Europe against the rest of the world rather than just America, and that intense partisanship is lost. After all, nobody feels deeply passionate about being a non-European. They don't have a story to get behind, an identity to celebrate, or even a flag to wave.[/b][/p][p]As a result of this, things just feel a bit flat among fans, compared to the Ryder Cup and also to tennis' Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup. Less chanting. Less colour. Less joy. Less sorrow.[/p][p]It's not just an issue in the stands, either. If you opened social media during matches at the recent tournaments, you would have seen very little talk of them. People just don't care that much.[/p][p][b]A combination of that aforementioned lack of partisanship, a lack of ranking points and a lack of history has made the stakes feel very low to everyone outside of the teams themselves.[/b][/p][p]And given tennis already has team tournaments that [i]do [/i]offer all of the above, you do have to wonder: what exactly is the point of the Laver Cup?[/p][h2]Star power needed[/h2][p]The answer to that question can be found in the not-so-distant past, when the Big 3 still ruled the world.[/p][image alt="Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the 2022 Laver Cup" id="b7175d9f-da97-4e92-8c56-fe8c65f2c43a" credit-line="Photo by JULIAN FINNEY / GETTY IMAGES EUROPE / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP" guid="b0ab3e6d-1d44-4494-93da-6d6969fcf24f" original-width="5077" original-height="3301" /][p][b]Watching genuine greats of the sport playing alongside each other and being on the same team for three days is absolutely fascinating. Seeing how their styles match up, listening to the coaching advice they give one another, observing what their relationships are like away from the court - the Laver Cup can be a rare and irresistible insight into all of this.[/b][/p][p]When it provided such insights by putting two or all three of Federer, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nadal-rafael/xUwlUnRK/"]Rafael Nadal[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/djokovic-novak/AZg49Et9/"]Novak Djokovic[/a] alongside each other in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022, it was a real hit with fans. People were watching it, enjoying it and talking about it.[/p][p]The tournament may well get such interest again in the future if Alcaraz and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sinner-jannik/6HdC3z4H/"]Jannik Sinner[/a] join forces. However, it's currently not maximising its unique ability to put superstars from different nations on the same team. There are only three such stars in men's tennis, and one is only interested in playing Grand Slams as he seeks a 25th major, while the other two are often injured.[/p][h2]A clear solution[/h2][p][b]Happily, there's a glaringly obvious solution to this problem: Make it a mixed event.[/b][/p][p]Frankly, it's baffling that such a change hasn't been made already. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/swiatek-iga/jNyZsXZe/"]Iga Swiatek[/a] and Jannik Sinner playing doubles; [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sabalenka-aryna/vyhksgUB/"]Aryna Sabalenka[/a] and Alcaraz hanging around in the locker room; [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gauff-coco/f5BXmEH6/"]Coco Gauff[/a] getting coached by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/osaka-naomi/MDM4BKiA/"]Naomi Osaka[/a];  There's no doubt in my mind that adding WTA stars to the equation would immediately elevate the event.[/p][p]It would create a much more level playing field, too. Right now, Team Europe are highly likely to win any edition that their big guns show up to, but Team World having Osaka, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rybakina-elena/UDzElXdm/"]Elena Rybakina[/a] and the many, many, elite female American players to call upon would make things much tighter, and produce higher quality tennis.[/p][p]Granted, it would move the Laver Cup away from becoming the perfect equivalent to the men's-only Ryder Cup that Federer wants, but maybe that's for the best. After all, he didn't become the Roger Federer that the world knows and loves through a fear of doing things differently.[/p][infobox id="68274eb9-a292-466f-8d1c-279fe1b5c54c" /]