Team Europe makes surprising selection for Laver Cup Captain

The 2025 Laver Cup will have new captains. Team World's John McEnroe and Team Europe's Bjorn Borg will finish their tenures at the 2024 Laver Cup happening in Berlin, Germany from September 20 through September 22, 2024.

American tennis legend Andre Agassi was recently selected to succeed John McEnroe for Team World. And in the midst of the French Open, it is fitting that the Team Europe Captain is announced. He is Yannick Noah.

Noah is a French icon, the last French man to win the French Open in singles in 1983, and he followed it up with a French Open men's doubles title in 2024. He was an accomplished tennis player in his own right, but his selection is still somewhat of a surprising one.

Why Yannick Noah is a surprising choice

Everyone thought that Roger Federer would take over the role as Team Europe's leader. Federer, with the help and approval of one of his childhood heroes, Rod Laver, created the Laver Cup event in 2017.

Similar to professional golf's Ryder Cup, the ATP's Laver Cup is aimed to be an all-star event to celebrate the multiple generations of who have contributed to the sport's legacy. Twelve players, six on Team World and six on Team Europe, play in singles and doubles matches over the course of the three day event accumulating points for their respective teams.

The Laver Cup is always played on indoor hardcourts, but it makes fans wonder, with the selection of Noah, if it would ever venture onto clay. However, it would be a challenge to get some of the USA's top players who compete on Team World to play on clay, and the Laver Cup prides itself on its signature black courts. Dying the clay black and keeping the court pristine for the multi-day event would also be difficult. The Laver Cup is usually held at the end of hardcourt season so players may be less apt to play because of a lack of clay court training leading up to the event.

Agassi and Noah will be in Berlin this September as part of the formal transition. Their tenures will begin in 2025 when the Laver Cup is held in San Francisco. Team Europe owns the event's head-to-head record 4-2.

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