Laver Cup to be played at London’s O2 Arena in 2022

The popular Laver Cup will be played at London’s O2 Arena in 2022.

Organizers have named the O2 Arena in London as the venue for the 2022 edition of the Laver Cup, which will be played from 23-25 September 2022.

The news comes as a boost for British tennis fans, who have grown accustomed to the ATP Tour Finals being played at the O2 each November since 2009.

But the 2020 edition of the season-ending championships – which may or may not be able to allow fans thanks to COVID-19 – will be the last that takes place at the O2 before it moves to the Italian city of Turin from 2021-25.

The Laver Cup, which is played in late September after the US Open under normal circumstances, was cancelled for 2020 for obvious reasons, and will be played in Boston’s TD Garden in 2021.

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Roger Federer play doubles together at the 2019 Laver Cup in Geneva (Credit Image: © Christopher Levy/ZUMA Wire)

The exhibition event was created by Roger Federer’s management agency Team8, Tennis Australia and Brazilian businessman Jorge Paulo Lemann, with the idea to start a tournament based on the Ryder Cup format which sees the golfers of Europe and the USA facing off.
Named to honour Rod Laver, the only man to complete a true Grand Slam in the Open Era, the exhibition event sees male players competing against each other in singles and doubles as Team Europe and Team World. Roger Federer has played all three editions so far, joined by Rafael Nadal in 2017 and 2019 and Novak Djokovic in 2018. Unsurprisingly, Team Europe has won all three editions of the Laver Cup to date.

Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe currently act as team captains.

Federer said:

‘London has always held a special place in my heart and it’s going to be incredible to bring the Laver Cup to one of my favourite cities in the world.

‘I know the British fans will love the way the Laver Cup brings together the top players in the world while paying respect and recognition to the legends of our game.’

It remains to be seen whether 39-year-old Federer will still be playing when the Laver Cup comes to London in 2022.

London mayor Sadiq Khan hailed the decision, saying: ‘It is a great honour for London to play host to the Laver Cup in 2022.

‘Londoners are fanatical about sport and have missed the thrill of live events during the pandemic. The capital is proud to have hosted major international sporting events over the years. To add the prestigious Laver Cup to our portfolio is incredibly exciting and we can’t wait to welcome the event to town.’