Going Inside Laver Cup’s Black Carpet Opening Night Gala

The black carpet of Laver Cup’s opening night gala led past major champions and current Laver Cup players—sometimes those are one and the same—toward a different type of spotlight, one that wasn’t about their tennis but about them.

The annual event occurs the night before Laver Cup competition begins and draws roughly 800 people to attend a black-tie event that this year welcomed the likes of Rod Laver, Roger Federer, John McEnroe, Michael Chang, Stan Smith and Andy Roddick—that’s 40 major titles among those players alone, not even counting the six current Laver Cup Team Europe player Carlos Alcaraz adds to the mix—to San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.

After walking the black carpet where media and photographers lined the black velvet ropes to snap shots and ask questions, the guests entered the gala, and the team captains and players had their moment on the stage. In what has turned into an annual tradition, each player introduces another, sometimes drawing laughs and exposing inside jokes.

Evening host Melissa Stark welcomed the guests and invited Team Europe captain Yannick Noah to kick off the introductions. He did so in style, reading a poem he wrote about his “gentleman” vice captain, Tim Henman, tying together both the Brit’s storied career and his ownership of a pub in his hometown of Oxfordshire.

Henman had a crack about the short shorts of Tomas Machac, who then introduced Flavio Cobolli by saying he’s still dreaming of how to beat him. Jakub Mensik called Casper Ruud one of the best-looking players on tour and mentioned “the big Viking from Norway” may have had to miss Wimbledon to tend to more important matters, while alluding to the fact Ruud and his

fiancé are now expecting their first child.

Holger Rune introduced Alex Zverev for being known to be late, adding he’s been late to his hairdresser “for the last many years.” Zverev, in keeping with the hair theme, introduced Alcaraz by saying he’s had more haircuts than losses this season,

which Alcaraz agreed with.

Team World captain Andre Agassi led off his introductions by joking Alcaraz was overrated before giving a heartfelt ode to tournament namesake Rod Laver. He also quipped to Federer that the last 11 times they played the Swiss player “got lucky.” Jenson Brooksby introduced Reilly Opelka as the game’s biggest bot and Opelka said Brazilian 19-year-old Joao Fonseca makes 20-year-olds feel old.

Fonseca called Alex Michelsen the funniest guy on the team and Michelsen said he couldn’t tell Francisco Cerundolo was Argentinian because he doesn’t yell “vamos” all the time. Cerundolo said he appreciated Alex de Minaur speaking fluently to him in his native Spanish. To wrap it up, de Minaur introduced American star Taylor Fritz as a runway model.

“He’s got the poses, he’s got the looks,” he said. The evening included a welcome from Tony Godsick, Laver Cup chairman, a tribute to Laver from McEnroe and a musical performance amidst a meal and photo opportunities with the Laver Cup trophy.

Walking the Black Carpet

As past champions and present players mixed on the black carpet, Federer said it was a chance to celebrate the players and have a great time. “I hope the players enjoy getting dressed up and they like having good pictures taken of themselves as well, especially in a group environment,” he said.

“There is going to be banter, it also gives them a chance to get outside their tennis clothes, locker rooms, hotel rooms and actually go out and be a team in a formal setting. It is probably a good thing, to be honest.” – Roger Federer

The players, who came in as teams, posed for photos along the black carpet and then later for official black-tie portraits. Many said they were enjoying getting to know each other throughout the week. “I am just getting to know the players off the court,” Alcaraz said, “which is great. I know how they prepare for the match, how they work out off the court. It is great to learn a little

bit how they work.”

Zverev said he’s trying to pick up positive things from his teammates and Ruud said they have really gelled as a group. “We help each other, joke with each other and it is a really fun team to be a part of,” he said. There haven’t been strange routines or superstitions to get in the way. “We are quite normal, a lot of us,” Rune said. “We don’t do that much different. We are professional with our routines and I didn’t see anyone with any weird superstitions.” Of course, that could still change, as De Minaur said. “I think we have to wait for match day,” the Australian said, “that is when we get a little more in our own ways and have our own routines. So far, we are all quite normal in that sense.”

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