LOS ANGELES, Sept. 19, 2024 – Tennis Channel will again have exclusive coverage of the annual Laver Cup team competition with stars from Europe taking on stars from the rest of the world, live September 20-22. Among the many headliners taking part in the event are three Americans who recently thrilled US Open audiences at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York and on television sets around the planet: finalist Taylor Fritz, semifinalist Frances Tiafoe and young phenom Ben Shelton. Held in Berlin’s Uber Arena this year, the first Laver Cup match takes place Friday, Sept. 20, at 7 a.m. ET (complete schedule below).
The American stars and the rest of Team World will face an accomplished European squad that includes four-time major singles champion Carlos Alcarez, 2021 US Open winner Daniil Medvedev and World No. 2 singles player Alexander Zverev. This is the seventh Laver Cup competition, held every year since 2017 with the exception of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The three-day event rotates annually between sites in Europe and the rest of the world.
Tennis Channel will devote 22 live hours to Laver Cup in 2024, and close to 60 overall with encore replays each day. The on-air team features several former players, including Hall of Famer Jim Courier, Jason Goodall, Mark Petchey (@markpetchey), Leif Shiras (@ShirasLeif) and Mark Knowles (@Knowlzee10s). On Friday and Saturday, Sept. 20-21, the network’s Tennis Channel Live pregame show will air at 12:30 p.m. ET. It will appear at the conclusion of play Sunday, Sept. 22, to wrap up the competition. Former player and renowned coach Paul Annacone (@paul\annacone) will join Knowles and host Steve Weissman (@Steve_Weissman) on the program.
Laver Cup, which is named after legendary Australian player Rod Laver, features teams that are captained again by stars in one of the sport’s most legendary rivalries. John McEnroe will lead Team World against his longtime rival, friend and Team Europe captain Bjorn Borg. Both Hall of Famers are at the helms of their respective teams for the seventh time. McEnroe’s vice captain is his brother, Patrick, while Borg’s is Thomas Enqvist.
Fritz, Tiafoe and Shelton are joined on Team World by Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo, Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo and Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis. Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas and Norway’s Casper Ruud round out Team Europe’s roster.
Every September, Laver Cup gathers all-star lineups with the top players in men’s tennis. The competition’s unique scoring format rewards one point for each of the three singles and one doubles match on Friday, and two points for each of the same on Saturday. Sunday’s doubles match, and any necessary singles matches following it, are worth three points each. In this way Laver Cup favors come-from behind rallies by a team that begins slowly on Friday but finds its groove over the weekend. The first team to 13 points wins the event.
Though Team Europe has a 4-2 lead in Laver Cup titles overall, Team World comes into Berlin as the two-time defending champion. McEnroe’s group lifted the cup after an overwhelming 13-2 victory in Vancouver last year, and won 13-8 in London in 2022. The first four Laver Cups were claimed by Team Europe, starting with Prague in 2017 (15-9), Chicago in 2018 (13-8), Geneva in 2019 (13-11) and Boston in 2021 (14-1). The eighth Laver Cup will be contested in San Francisco next September.
Tennis Channel’s Live 2024 Laver Cup Schedule
Date Time (ET) Event
Friday, Sept. 20 7 a.m. Day Session (Two Singles)
1 p.m. Night Session (Singles, Doubles)
Saturday, Sept. 21 7 a.m. Day Session (Two Singles)
1 p.m. Night Session (Singles, Doubles)
Sunday, Sept. 22 6 a.m. Day Session (Doubles*)
*Up to three additional singles matches will be played Sunday if required, followed by a tiebreaking doubles competition if needed.
Tennis Channel (www.tennischannel.com) and its sibling network T2, which are owned by Sinclair, Inc., are the only television-based multiplatform destinations dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle. The networks have the most concentrated single-sport coverage in television in one of the world’s most voluminous sports, with multiple men’s and women’s tournaments and singles, doubles and mixed competition throughout the year. Tennis Channel has rights at the four majors – US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros (French Open) and Australian Open – and is the exclusive U.S. home of all men’s ATP World Tour and women’s WTA Tour competitions, Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup, United Cup, and Laver Cup. Direct-to-consumer streaming service Tennis Channel+ is available to everyone in the United States and allows subscribers to select from another 4,500 live and on-demand matches and award-winning content from short-form to films throughout the tennis season. Tennis Channel International brings live competition and network content to markets in Europe and Asia via digital subscription and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels. Additional platform www.tennis.com is the largest digital outlet dedicated to the sport. Tennis Channel also oversees a network of close to 20 podcasts and is a co-owner of Pickleballtv, a joint-venture with the Professional Pickleball Association.
About Sinclair:
Sinclair, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI) is a diversified media company and a leading provider of local news and sports. The Company owns, operates and/or provides services to 185 television stations in 86 markets affiliated with all the major broadcast networks; and owns Tennis Channel and multicast networks Comet, CHARGE!, TBD., and The Nest. Sinclair’s content is delivered via multiple platforms, including over-the-air, multi-channel video program distributors, and the nation’s largest streaming aggregator of local news content, NewsON. The Company regularly uses its website as a key source of Company information which can be accessed at www.sbgi.net.
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For further information:
Eric Abner, Tennis Channel, 310-314-9445, eabner@tennischannel.com, @TennisChannelPR