Tennis News

No. 1 Club icons unite: Agassi, Rafter lead Team World's new era

Andre Agassi and Patrick Rafter often battled at some of the sport’s biggest tournaments in their day. Now, they will stand side by side as they guide Team World at the Laver Cup.

Team World captain Agassi and vice captain Rafter, two of the 29 members in the ATP No. 1 Club, are taking over in a new era of Laver Cup leadership. Agassi is replacing John McEnroe as Team World’s captain while Yannick Noah spearheads Team Europe, formerly led by Bjorn Borg.

“Truth be told, I don’t think I would’ve done it if Pat didn’t say he would join me,” Agassi told ATPTour.com. “I literally said, ‘You’re the guy I want’. He was one of the great players, one of the great athletes, one of the great competitors.”

Agassi and Rafter met 15 times, spanning 1993-2001, in their Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry, with the American winning 10 of those matches. Now, more than two decades after their final meeting, Agassi and Rafter’s mutual respect and friendship will be on display in San Francisco.

“He was one of those guys who when I lost to him, I could actually take a little solace in the fact that, ‘Well, at least Pat won and I’m happy for him’,” reflected Agassi. “He just always earned players’ respect on and off the court and now to share the same side of the net with him is a win for me.”

Rafter echoed that same sentiment to the assembled media: “Andre asked me, “Do you want to be involved?” Being with Andre is awesome. I did keep in contact with him once a year. You don’t often keep in contact with a lot of the ex-players. Just so much respect for him… This is so beautiful, so amazing. [I’m] spoiled rotten, I’m loving it.”

After a narrow 13-11 defeat last year, Team World will aim for its third Laver Cup triumph (2022, 2023) with new voices on the sideline.

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'Hopefully our time now' – GB into BJK Cup semis

A ruthless Katie Boulter secures Great Britain’s place in the Billie Jean King Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 win against Japan.

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Raducanu misses three match points in Korea Open loss to Krejcikova

Emma Raducanu misses three match points in a three-set loss to former Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova in the Korea Open second round.

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Meet the teams: Who is playing in the Laver Cup?

Some of the biggest stars on the ATP Tour are ready to compete in the Laver Cup.

The Carlos Alcaraz-led Team Europe will try to defend its crown in San Francisco against Team World, headlined by Taylor Fritz.

For the first time since the event’s inception in 2017, there are new captains: Yannick Noah (Team Europe) and Andre Agassi (Team World). Tim Henman (Team Europe) and Patrick Rafter (Team World) are vice captains. View the full teams for the competition below.

Team Europe
Carlos Alcaraz
Alexander Zverev
Holger Rune
Casper Ruud
Jakub Mensik
Flavio Cobolli
Alternate: Tomas Machac
Captain: Yannick Noah
Vice Captain: Tim Henman

Team World
Taylor Fritz
Alex de Minaur
Francisco Cerundolo
Alex Michelsen
Joao Fonseca
Reilly Opelka
Alternate: Jenson Brooksby
Captain: Andre Agassi
Vice Captain: Patrick Rafter

There are three Laver Cup debutants on Team Europe (Rune, Mensik and Cobolli (2024 alternate)) and two on Team World (Michelsen and Fonseca).

Alcaraz is competing for the first time since returning to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings the day after winning the US Open. The Spaniard played in the Laver Cup for the first time last year, earning victories against Fritz and Ben Shelton.

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Boulter win puts GB into BJK Cup semi-finals

Watch the best shots, as Katie Boulter’s win over Moyuka Uchijima sees Great Britain secure a 2-0 win over Japan, setting up a Billie Jean King Cup semi-final with the United States.

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GB's Kartal dominates Shibahara in BJK Cup match win

Watch the best shots, as Sonay Kartal beats Ena Shibahara of Japan to give Great Britain a 1-0 lead in their Billie Jean King Cup quarter-final tie.

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Shevchenko advances in Chengdu after 'childhood hero' Monfils retires

Gael Monfils cut a dejected figure on Thursday after suffering a painful fall that forced him to retire from his opening match against Alexander Shevchenko at the Chengdu Open.

The 39-year-old Frenchman, who had taken the first set, rolled his ankle late in the second and grew visibly emotional once it became clear he could not continue. After Shevchenko leveled the contest, Monfils retired at 7-6(3), 3-6, 0-1.

“I loved every second of the match, and I really didn’t want to end it like this,” said Shevchenko, who helped Monfils up after he fell. “He’s my childhood hero, I enjoy watching him so much and I wish him a fast recovery. He’s incredible, there are so many people looking up to him.”

Monfils won his 13th ATP Tour title in Auckland in January and backed it up with a fourth-round run at the Australian. But the World No. 52 has now slipped to five consecutive defeats and owns an 18-15 record in 2025, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

Making his debut at the Chinese ATP 250 event, Shevchenko next plays big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who did not face a break point across the second and third sets of his 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over Filip Misolic.

Earlier, #NextGenATP star Dino Prizmic moved past Terence Atmane 6-4, 6-3 in the Frenchman’s first appearance since his breakthrough run to the Cincinnati semi-finals last month. The 20-year-old Prizmic, who is fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, is competing in Chengdu through the Next Gen Accelerator, which offers players aged 20 and under increased opportunity to compete on the ATP Tour.

Prizmic set a second-round meeting with top seed and last year’s runner-up Lorenzo Musetti, who is eighth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and aiming to strengthen his push for a Nitto ATP Finals qualification.

Other winners on Day 2 in Chengdu include eighth seed Lorenzo Sonego and qualifier Mackenzie McDonald, who both earned deciding-set victories. Sonego rallied past Juan Manuel Cerundolo 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, while McDonald held firm for a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Botic van de Zandschulp to improve to 2-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

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Borg will fight cancer 'like it's a Wimbledon final'

Tennis legend Bjorn Borg says “I hope I’m gonna be OK” after being diagnosed with “extremely aggressive” prostate cancer.

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Medvedev on 'interesting new project in my career'

Daniil Medvedev is hoping to turn a disappointing 2025 season around ahead of the Lynk & Co Hangzhou Open. Having dropped to No. 18 in the PIF ATP Rankings, he is aiming to bounce back and rediscover the form that once made him a member of the prestigious ATP No. 1 Club..

The 2020 Nitto ATP Finals champion is set to compete in his first tournament after parting ways with his longtime coach, Gilles Cervara, following his defeat to Benjamin Bonzi in the opening round of the US Open. In his pre-tournament press conference, Medvedev shared he has been working with Thomas Johansson and Rohan Goetzke.

“It’s not been an easy decision, but I’m happy to try with them for the remainder of the season and then for the [next] season, I’m going to see how it goes,” he said.

“I love the way they work. I love what they say, and it’s an interesting new project in my career.”

He also revealed that he took a break after the US Open to recharge, before returning to training Monte-Carlo in preparation for the upcoming Asian Swing.

“I [did] not play tennis for like two weeks after the US Open because I knew that even next tournament is going to be in some time,” he said.

“I had a very good week of practice last week. I played some of my best tennis this year, maybe my best tennis. And the goal would be to try to recreate this on the court, because if I’m going to be able to do it, I’m going to be able to win tournaments or play good tennis and that’s most important for me.”

The 29-year-old is seeded second in Hangzhou and will face qualifier Nishesh Basavareddy or Marin Cilic in his opening match. He owns a 26-18 record this season according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

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Alcaraz visits Alcatraz, Agassi works with Fonseca at Laver Cup

Stars have arrived at the Laver Cup, which is taking place in San Francisco, California, from 19-21 September.

Before the action kicks off Friday, the players and captains are getting to know one another and the stars have also been touring the city.

No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings Carlos Alcaraz visited Alcatraz Island, a popular tourist destination in the city. Team World Captain Andre Agassi worked with #NextGenATP Brazilian Joao Fonseca ahead of the event.

See below some pictures of what the players have been up to:

<img alt=”Carlos Alcaraz at Alcatraz ahead of the Laver Cup. ” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/09/17/23/11/alcaraz-alcatraz-laver-cup-2025-wednesday.jpg?w=100%25″ />
Alcaraz at Alcatraz Island.

<img alt=”Andre Agassi and Joao Fonseca train ahead of the Laver cup.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/09/17/23/06/agassi-laver-cup-2025-fonseca.jpg” />
Joao Fonseca trained with Team World Captain Andre Agassi.

<img alt=”Holger Rune with Rod Laver ahead of the Laver Cup.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/09/17/23/03/holger-rune-laver-cup-2025-rod-laver.jpg” />
Team Europe’s Holger Rune met Australian legend Rod Laver.

<img alt=”Andre Agassi and Patrick Rafter with Team Europe’s Jakub Mensik.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/09/17/23/14/mensik-laver-cup-2025-agassi-rafter.jpg” />
Team Europe’s Jakub Mensik met Team World Captain Agassi and Vice Captain Patrick Rafter.

<img alt=”Andre Agassi and Tim Henman ahead of the Laver Cup action.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/09/17/23/18/agassi-laver-cup-2025-henman.jpg” />
Agassi with former rival and Team Europe’s Vice Captain Tim Henman.

<img alt=”Yannick Noah and Tim Henman at the practice session ahead of the Laver Cup.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/09/17/23/21/noah-henman-laver-cup-2025-captain-vice-captain.jpg” />
Team Europe’s Captain Yannick Noah with Henman.

<img alt=”Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev embrace at the Laver Cup.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2025/09/17/23/47/alcaraz-laver-cup-2025-zverev.jpg” />
Teammates Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev at the practice session.

All photos were taken by Clive Brunskill or Ezra Shaw of Getty Images.

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