The Laver Cup tennis tournament is held in London. It is a show event, but a very prestigious one, in which teams from Europe and the rest of the world compete. On the European side, incl. Swiss Roger Federer, Spaniard Rafael Nadal and Serbian Novak Djokovic. Among the competitors, ia the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, the Australian Alex de Minaur or the American Francis Tiafoe.
Laver Cup for Tennis Players
Laver Cup is a competition that affects the promotion of men Tennis. Sitting in the stands, I was wondering if a similar game should arise also among women? Let’s imagine that there are, for example, the Polish woman Iga Świątek, the Romanian Simona Halep, the Belarusian woman Aryna Sabalenka, and the Greek woman Maria Sakkari. In the troupe “Reszty świata”, in turn, are American Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, Tunisian Ons Jabeur and Canadian Leila Fernandez.
This could be the next step in women’s tennis equality. Tennis players have been fighting for this for years. Today, they sometimes earn the same level as the men (including Grand Slam tournaments). However, they still lag behind tennis players in many respects. Play In this They don’t offer rewards like ATP.
There are no equivalents in women’s tennis in the Laver Cup or the ATP Cup (the national team competitions are held at the beginning of January/February each year, other than the Davis Cup). The Hopman Cup, the world’s unofficial mixed pairs championship, has also been cancelled. Perhaps, by creating a new women’s competition, you can attract new sponsors and fans. The women’s tennis calendar shrinks from year to year, especially in the latter part of the season. There are no events, for example in China or Russia.
prophecy?
For years, there have been discussions about the weaknesses of women’s tennis. Critics complain that tennis players simply do not attract as many fans to the stands or in front of television sets as tennis players. What if it was also a partially fulfilled prophecy? Or maybe women’s tennis isn’t very popular because it lacks the Laver Cup and ATP Cup matches?
I remember seeing in Paris this year the indignation of some journalists and experts at the decisions of Roland Garros director Amelie Mauresmo. And the former French player decided that in the evening session of 10 matches, it was only one for the women’s tournament. The remaining nine were played by men of the best times. Mauresmo made it clear that it wasn’t her fault that tennis players were more popular. Or maybe they have fun – not only but also because they often appear in more interesting formats?
We won’t know if the Laver Women’s Cup won’t attract fans until such a tournament is established. The only question is who will organize it? – says Serbian journalist Miodrag Dmitrijevic from Nova.rs, with whom I spoke in London.
Dmitrijevic doubts the WTA would be interested in holding such an event. Sport.pl contacted the WTA about this, but we did not receive a response until the article was published. But activists are looking for new ways to reach fans and partners – like the tournament in Guadalajara in October – so they might be interested.
The Laver Cup is organized by Team 8 (associated with Roger Federer), the Australian and American Tennis Federations and Jorge Paulo Lemann, a Brazilian businessman. The question is who can replace him in the Women’s Championship.
On the shoulders of Iga Świątek
Federica Cocchi of La Gazzetta dello Sport daily tells us: “The Women’s Laver Cup can be very interesting. I don’t know how women’s tennis will deal with it in the organizational field and what the fans are interested in. If Eja Chviyutk will attract her – as the first racket in the world – It will be the biggest challenge for her of her career. Bring women’s tennis to the same level as men’s, and break the glass ceiling.”
Besides journalists based in London, we found a suitable name for such a tournament – “Navratilova Cup”. Why Martina Navratilova? Because he connects Europe and the rest of the world perfectly as a tennis legend who was born in the Czech Republic and represents the USA.
More fierce competition
– Since the Laver Cup works, it should be a female equivalent as well. Games like this can attract fans new to tennis who want a more even competition – Tony Fairburn of Ubitenni.net tells us.
The Laver Cup has been in operation since 2017. Tennis players from Europe have triumphed in each of the four editions (it was not played in 2020 due to the pandemic). It couldn’t be otherwise if you had Nadal, Djokovic and Federer on one side. In the future, it may be similar when the place of the old champions is replaced by the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz (currently the new leader in the ATP rankings), the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas or Italy Matteo Berrettini.
The Navratilova Cup could be more equal. On the side of Europe, the leader of the arrangement, Iga Świątek, along with the rest of the world, deputy commander Ons Jabeur and runner-up Roland Garros Coco Gauff. Recently, tennis players from Europe are not as dominant as tennis players from Europe.
Looking closely at the Laver Cup, I can see that it is not just a sporting event, but also an opportunity to promote, for example, my country or my country project. There are dedicated Switzerland booths in the fan zone around the O2 in London. Even in the press office, advertisements are displayed encouraging people to visit the country.
At the same time, next to the Swiss pavilion there is, among other things, the tent of the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy. Roger Federer has already announced that he will be sending his children there this summer.
“Bacon scholar. Incurable social media ninja. Professional travel aficionado. Beer buff.”
