Laver Cup Press Release, May 29, 2024
French tennis champion, music star and global icon Yannick Noah will succeed Bjorn Borg as Team Europe Captain for the Laver Cup, starting his tenure from 2025 in San Francisco.
Facing him as Team World Captain will be eight-time Grand Slam Champion Andre Agassi whose appointment was announced last week.
Noah’s greatest success was in 1983 when he defied the odds to become the first Frenchman to win the French Open in 37 years. He remains the only Frenchman to have achieved this feat.
A winner of 23 singles titles and 16 doubles titles, Noah reached a career high ranking of No.3 in July 1986 and the world No.1 doubles ranking a month later. He is France’s highest ranked male player since the rankings were introduced in 1973.
After retiring, Noah took on the role of Davis Cup Captain on a number of occasions, guiding the French team to victory in 1991, 1996 and 2017. He also captained the Fed Cup team to success in 1997. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005.
Noah remained in the public eye away from the court, reinventing himself as a hugely popular and well-respected international music star, selling over four million albums and performing at Bob Geldof’s Live 8 concert in 2005.
“I am truly honored to have been asked to take on the role as Team Europe Captain for the Laver Cup,” said Noah. “I’ve been out of the game for a while, doing my music, but I am really excited for this new adventure.”
“I love team competitions, the emotions they bring, getting to know the guys, how they are on and off the court as people – it will be great. I also can’t wait to see Andre again after a couple of decades and to face him on the other side. I might have mellowed a bit now, but the competitive side of me is alive forever. I want Team Europe to win!”
Noah will attend this year’s Laver Cup, being staged in Berlin from September 20-22, to prepare for his new role under the guidance of the current Team Europe Captain Borg.
“I can’t think of a better person to take over this role than my good friend Yannick,” said Borg.
“He is a great champion, leader and person and I’m sure he will enjoy being part of this great competition as much as I have. I will of course be wishing him and Team Europe continued success over the years.”
Laver Cup Chairman and TEAM8 CEO Tony Godsick agrees adding, “Yannick is adored by fans around the world. His individual achievements, success as a team leader, and endearing personality make him the perfect choice to take over from Bjorn after Berlin. We are delighted he accepted our invitation and look forward to seeing him take his place on the Team Europe bench.”
Since its inception, the Laver Cup has established itself as one of the most unique and exciting events on the annual tennis calendar.
The three-day competition pits six of the best male players from Europe against six of their counterparts from the rest of the World. Three players qualify for selection based on their PIF ATP rankings and the captains are responsible for selecting the remaining three as ‘captain’s picks’.
With 2024 being the final year that Borg and McEnroe will go head-to-head as Laver Cup captains, both are finely focused on securing one last title.
Borg has confirmed that tennis superstar Rafael Nadal will make what is likely to be his final Laver Cup appearance as a player, joining World No.3 Carlos Alcaraz, World No.4 Alexander Zverev and World No.5 Daniil Medvedev on Team Europe. McEnroe has so far announced to his roster Australian No.1 Alex de Minaur and Americans Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul. The remaining players on the six man teams are still to be announced.
Tickets to this year’s Laver Cup in Berlin are on sale now via the Laver Cup Ticket Shop operated by CTS Eventim at lavercup.com/tickets.
