How Laver Cup 2021 Works, Format and Points System

After witnessing some incredible tennis at the US Open 2021, it’s time to watch some exciting stuff at the Laver Cup 2021. The fourth edition of the tournament will be kicking off from today and fans are looking forward to seeing some spectacular matches at the tournament.

Even though the ‘Big Three’ are not playing at the Laver Cup 2021, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, and others will headline Team Europe at the tournament. Once again, 11-time Grand Slam winner, Bjorn Borg will be leading the side.

Team Europe can face some really tough competition from Team World which will be led by American legend, Joh McEnroe. The team has a lot of star players including the likes of Felix Auger-Aliassime, Nick Kyrgios, Reilly Opelka, and others.

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Format of the Laver Cup 2021

Unlike other ATP tournaments, the Laver Cup has a really different and unique format. There are two teams, Team Europe and Team World, that comprise of six players each- headed by a captain. Three players of each team qualify on the basis of ATP rankings at the time of the French Open while the captains pick the remaining three players. The decision of which player will play which match also lies in the hands of the captains.

The tournament takes place over the course of three days. While the first two days witness both the day and night sessions, the play only takes place during the night session on the final day i.e Sunday.

A total of four matches- three singles and one doubles- take place everyday. Both the singles and doubles matches are best of three sets with ad scoring. However, unlike other tennis tournaments, the third set is simply a 10-point match tie-breaker.

It is mandatory for every player to play at least one singles match during the first two days. In addition, no player can play singles more than two times during the whole tournament.

At least four out of the six players have to take part in the doubles. A doubles combination can’t play twice in the tournament unless a decider takes place on the final day.

Points System of the Laver Cup 2021

Just like many other attributes, the Laver Cup follows a special kind of scoring system as well. A win in any match on the first day will fetch the team one point each. If the victory comes on the second day, the players will get two points while if they emerge victorious on the final day, they will receive three points each after every match.

Thus, there are a total of 24 points to win for every team. The team which manages to earn 13 points first wins the tournament. If, however, the two teams end on 12-12 points each, a decider takes place on the final day and the team that succeeds in it, ultimately wins the Laver Cup.

Fans are quite exhilarated about the Laver Cup 2021. Will Team Europe be able to defend the title even in the absence of the Big Three this year?

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