Laver Cup Berlin 2024: Alex de Minaur, Tommy Paul withdraw from Team World

It's all change for Team World with just over a week to go until the Laver Cup 2024 gets underway in Berlin, Germany. Both Alex de Minaur and Tommy Paul have been forced to withdraw from John McEnroe's team due to injury. The Team Captain has called up Francisco Cerundolo and Thanasi Kokkinakis as replacements.

Australian de Minaur has been struggling with a hip injury sustained during Wimbledon, and despite making it to the quarterfinals of the US Open, the world No. 11 failed to recover in time for this week’s Davis Cup, making participation in the Laver Cup highly unlikely.

Australia’s Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt admitted to reporters earlier this week:

“He’s been battling since Wimbledon and he hasn't really been close to 100 percent. He was desperate to play, but in the end it wasn’t really much of a choice.”

For both Cerundolo and Kokkinakis, it will be their second time competing in the showpiece event, which runs from September 20-22 at the Uber Arena, Berlin. Cerundolo was part of the triumphant Team World last year, winning his only match against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Kokkinakis was part of the team in 2017, when a Roger Federer-inspired Team Europe won 15-9.

The two players join American trio Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe in McEnroe’s side. They will aim to defend their title against a formidable Team Europe line-up led by Bjorn Borg, featuring Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev. 

Team Europe won the first four editions of the Laver Cup in Prague (2017), Chicago (2018), Geneva (2019) and Boston (2021). Team World seeks a third consecutive title having won in London (2022) and Vancouver (2023).