Team8, Roger Federer’s boutique agency and investment firm, launched the team-based tennis tournament Laver Cup in 2017 with a simple premise.
“We wanted to create an event a lot like the Ryder Cup that could showcase the best of men’s tennis,” recalls Tony Godsick, Team8 CEO, Laver Cup chairman and Federer’s longtime agent and business partner.
Annually pitting a Team Europe against Team World at a rotating cast of host sites, Laver Cup debuted in Prague with a player roster headlined by Federer and Rafael Nadal and a single-digit sponsor lineup anchored by Rolex. Since then, the event has stopped in global hubs including Chicago, London and Berlin, and turned a profit every year except its first and in 2023 (when it invested heavily in outdoor infrastructure for its hospitality offering in Vancouver).
Now, touting record revenue projections and top-level talent for its 2025 edition this September at Chase Center in San Francisco, organizers believe the event has arrived, particularly in its lessening dependence on Federer. For the first time this year, more than half of Laver Cup’s corporate partners will not share personal affiliation with Federer, as key early (and continuing) supporters such as Rolex, Mercedes-Benz and UBS do.
“London was our best ever,” Laver Cup CEO Steve Zacks said of overall revenue, referencing the 2022 event at O2 Arena that also served as Federer’s retirement sendoff. “We will beat that in San Francisco.”
Zacks estimates the 2025 Laver Cup will book more than $20 million in revenue in each of the ticketing/hospitality and sponsorship categories, accounting for more than 80% of its total intake. He also projects a full sellout for the sixth time in eight years, with premium hospitality inventory sold through months before the start. Chase Center has a capacity of 16,500 for the event.
Laver Cup’s premium offerings are headlined by the Rocket Club, which is branded in honor of tournament namesake Rod Laver’s famous nickname, “Rocket.” Zacks describes it as Laver Cup’s version of a royal box. Packages include access to a premium space replete with all-inclusive food-and-beverage service that opens 90 minutes before play begins, as well as baseline seating. The clientele within are mostly tournament sponsors or private invitees, making it a veritable who’s who of the tennis business world, but Laver Cup does sell select passes to the public; this year, 16 of those went for $30,000 per head for a full-tournament pass.
Laver Cup 2025
Site: Chase Center, San Francisco
Dates:
Sept. 19-21
New sponsors: Alipay+, Perplexity AI, DAOU Vineyards, Flexjet, Genesys
Media partner: Tennis Channel
Branding agency: Designwerk
Prize money: $250,000 to each player on winning team
Outside of the Rocket Club, Laver Cup offers several tiers of premium hospitality, including, in 2025, the Vantage Club ($12,000-$20,000 per seat), Legends Club ($6,000-$8,500) and Captains Club ($5,000 per seat). Laver Cup has a full-time staff of 20 that works year-round to plan and execute the event.
Beyond hospitality, Laver Cup has stood out for its early adoption of in-venue digital boards, use of a charcoal-black court and the design of the Laver Cup trophy, which includes melted silver from past trophies of Laver’s. “His DNA is actually in the trophy,” Godsick said of Laver. “We’ve invested in the details.”
Rolex was an early legitimizing force for the event. The Swiss watch brand broke into tennis in 1978 by sponsoring Wimbledon and has since expanded its presence in the sport to include every Grand Slam and Masters tournament, as well as several other top events and players (e.g., Federer). But it doesn’t take many swings on unproven commodities.
“We search for quality and a level of excellence and prestige,” said Arnaud Boetsch, Rolex communication and image director. “With Roger and the Laver Cup, it was clear it would have been that. And it was the case.”
Ahead of the 2025 Laver Cup, Rolex signed a five-year extension as the event’s founding partner. Laver Cup also has renewed Mercedes-Benz and UBS on multiyear deals and added sponsors, including Alipay+, Perplexity AI, DAOU Vineyards, Flexjet and Genesys, this year. Its 18 corporate partners as of early June is double the amount from the first event (and could climb into the mid-20s by September), with sponsorship revenue expected to be four to five times that of 2017.
“We’ve been very fortunate to get some great brands, and then that led to other ones,” Godsick said. “It reflects that we’re doing things right, and people trust us.”
Event stakeholders also credit Laver Cup’s ability to draw stars as a factor in its success. The tournament format dictates the top three men’s players from Europe and top three men’s players from the rest of the world receive invites, with the captains of each team rounding out their final three slots with independent selections.
And invitees show up. The high point from a talent perspective was 2022, Federer’s retirement year, when fellow legends Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray played. But last year, top-five players in Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev participated, as did rising American stars Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton. This year, Alcaraz, Zverev, Fritz and Shelton have committed again, as have Tommy Paul, Holger Rune and 18-year-old Brazilian phenom Joao Fonseca, with Andre Agassi (World) and Yannick Noah (Europe) taking over as captains from John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg.
“Roger is around, but it’s not on the court, and it’s fine,” Boetsch said, referencing Federer’s enduring role as an ambassador of the event on the business side. “The best players are there, and it’s great matches. … It’s pretty credible in terms of prestigious events.”
On the horizon, Laver Cup’s domestic media rights deal with Tennis Channel expires after 2026, when it’s been announced the event will return to O2 Arena in London. Tennis Channel pays an undisclosed rights fee. Godsick also said Laver Cup has drawn interest from outside investors, an indicator that they’re “building something nice,” but they do not presently have interest in selling the property.
“Our best years are ahead,” he said.
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