de Minaur replaces Laver Cup’s Tiafoe – now tennis

admin September 12, 2025

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de Minaur replaces Laver Cup’s Tiafoe – now tennis

Next week is the eighth edition of the Laver Cup and the first to be staged in San Francisco. The annual showdown between Europe and the Team World will be held at the Chase Center from September 19-21, with Europe taking a 5-2 advantage in the historic series.

The team world looks very different after the late work of Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul Frances Tiafoe.

Alex Michelsen, Reilly Opelka and Alex de Minaur will replace them.

Team World has added the world’s eighth-ranked Alex de Minaur in place of Frances Tiafoe (No. 29).

“We will miss out on Frances’ energy and game,” said World Captain Andre Agassi. “But adding one of the best and biggest players in the world to our team, we’re excited to appreciate Alex’s playing and competition, and now I appreciate it and look forward to having the front seats to watch him perform.”

Australia’s top-ranked player De Minaur was initially unavailable due to open travel plans but accepted a late call from Agassi and vice captain Pat Rafter. The 25-year-old has six of the last eight Grand Slam finals, including this year’s Australian Open and U.S. Open, collecting 10 ATP Tour singles titles, his victory at the ATP 500 in Washington this year.

“It is an honor to be able to join Captain Agassi and Team World in San Francisco next week,” De Minaur said. “My first Laver Cup in London in 2022 was an incredible experience and I will be ready for everything I need to help the team lift the Laver Cup at Chase Center.”

The European team beat the world 13-11 last year in Berlin, but before that, two versions were obtained around the world, in Vancouver (2023) and London (2022). Europe dominated the first four games, winning in Prague (2017), Chicago (2018), Geneva (2019) and Boston (2021).