The Laver Cup Debuts on the West Coast, With Roger Federer, Carlos Alcaraz, and More Alighting in San Francisco
On Wednesday, the talk of the crowd at Crissy Field–which provides a postcard view of San Francisco’s famed Golden Gate Bridge–wasn’t about the color of the span. Instead, the hue at hand (or rather, at head) was silver, and it had to do with Carlos Alcaraz’s edgy new dye job.
“‘Silver Fox’ is a good nickname,” said Casper Ruud. “I always support people who go different than the rest,” said Francisco Cerundolo. “He just won the US Open, he can do whatever he wants,” said Reilly Opelka, more bluntly. “You really like it?” Alcaraz asked, after I complimented him on it.
Alcaraz, Ruud, Cerundulo, Opelka, and every other player participating in the 2025 Laver Cup had gathered in the park for official tournament photographs. The organizers, and San Franciscans familiar with the city’s fog patterns, had fretted the bridge would be obscured by encroaching mist, which would be normal at the gloaming hour. Instead, we received a crisp sunset punctuated by feathered clouds and heeling sailboats; gold and silver, through and through, and an especially nice backdrop for content.
The Laver Cup is an 8-year-old invitational men’s tennis tournament that has been held 7 times since its inception in 2017 (in 2020, the competition was suspended due to COVID-19). It is named for Rod Laver, the Australian tennis legend, and it was founded by Roger Federer and Tony Godsick of the firm TEAM8—it was Federer’s idea, mentioned during a car ride in Shanghai. The summit pits “Team Europe” against “Team World,” and it features six members per roster (those of European citizenship on the former, and those from everywhere else for the latter–each team also has an alternate). The Laver Cup has never been held on the West Coast (Chicago and Boston have hosted it before). Taylor Fritz, while hailing from Rancho Santa Fe some 450 miles to the south, was still pleased it had come home: “I’m pretty excited it’s here. Though I guess there hasn’t been much tennis in NorCal in a while.” (San Jose, just south of San Francisco, hosted a men’s tour-level event called the Pacific Coast Championships that ended in 2013.) Fritz, Alex Michelsen, and Jenson Brooksby—all on Team World—are each California-raised.
Before heading to the photo op, Team World gathered in the courtyard of the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco to play chess and decompress a bit before things got going. João Fonseca, the Brazilian phenom that’s been touted this year as the next big player to hit the scene, said he wasn’t used to wearing a suit. “You look natural, though,” consoled Alex de Minaur, the Australian who reached the quarterfinals of this year’s US Open.
The next evening saw the official opening of the Cup, with a kickoff gala held on Thursday at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Guests walked a black carpet, mimicking the black hard court the Laver Cup uses as its surface.
Federer, with a diamond-and-sapphire embellished Rolex on his wrist, recalled the inaugural edition held in Prague back in 2017.
“One of the most memorable moments for me was that year, the first one,” he said. “Gosh, it was the beginning of the week, probably four days away, and I was wondering, ‘Are the players coming? Are they on planes? Are they dropping out?’ They got there, but then, fast forward, and it’s half an hour before the first match, and I turn to Tony [Godsick] and ask, ‘Is there anyone in the stadium?’ I quickly ran down the corridor and looked behind the curtain, and it was three-quarters full, and I was like phew. We’re there.” There, and then some, nearly a decade later: 2025 is said to be the most in-demand Laver Cup thus far, and its tickets have been sold out for weeks.
Alcaraz, in a sharp double-breasted Louis Vuitton suit, posed with Federer. A few days earlier, the two had played a round of golf. Both athletes are big fans of the sport. “Actually, I made some birdies,” Alcaraz told me. “But my level isn’t that consistent right now. I made a few birdies, but I also made an 8 and a 9. But I made birdies in front of him, so that’s what counts.” On his icy new locks, he’d later say, “I have thought about it for a while, but I didn’t dare do it. I don’t think my house would have allowed it. But, I made a bet that if I won the US Open, it would happen.”
As the gala proceedings ensued, each player would introduce the next on stage. De Minaur brought up Fritz, calling him a great athlete and “a runway model” (which is true, Fritz has walked an Hermès show before). Ruud, who is Norwegian, introduced Holger Rune, who is Danish, saying, “We had battles in Viking times and in current times, on the court.”
All in all, the atmosphere was convivial and close-knit. Andre Agassi, the captain of Team World this year, got the biggest laugh of the night when addressing Federer: “Roger… the last eleven fucking times we played… well, you got lucky.”
1/12Andre Agassi
2/12Carlos Alcaraz