How the Davis Cup and the Laver Cup Are Competing for Tennis’s Biggest Stars

The second round of qualifying for the Davis Cup happened from September 18th through 20th, just five days before this week’s Laver Cup gets underway in London. With both events falling back-to-back and neither offering ranking points, several of the sport’s biggest names had decisions to make about where to spend their week, and where to rest.

Ben Shelton Chooses the Davis Cup

American Ben Shelton was one of the players who decided to choose between the Davis Cup and the Laver Cup, ultimately prioritizing his national duties at the Davis Cup.

He withdrew from the Laver Cup specifically to represent the United States in Prague, but the result didn’t go his way. He lost both of his singles matches, falling to Lehecka in straight sets on Friday, then losing a tense 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 match to Mensik on Saturday. Unfortunately, this led to the U.S. being eliminated after suffering a 3-2 comeback from the Czech Republic.

American captain Bob Bryan didn’t second-guess Shelton’s decision to prioritize his country over the exhibition in London. “Monumental effort by Ben to even show up here in Prague after all the tennis he played in New York,” Bryan said. "No regrets. There’s zero regrets. We brought the best team possible.”

Carlos Alcaraz Picks the Laver Cup

Carlos Alcaraz took a different approach from Shelton, choosing to play in the Laver Cup in London instead of representing Spain at the Davis Cup this year. This marks a change from the last two years, when he represented his home country in the competition. However, his decision wasn’t received lightly by everyone.

The choice drew criticism back home, serious enough that coach Rick Macci felt the need to publicly defend it on X. “Carlos [is] super smart to play Laver Cup and not Davis Cup,” Macci wrote. “No need to flip the script from hard to clay just to play. Remember for 139 days he was on the shelf to get better and feel like his old self.” Macci argued that it wasn’t worth the risk for Alcaraz to switch between playing on hard court and clay surfaces after just recently returning from injury.

Spain won 4-0 without him and qualified for the Final 8 regardless, but the backlash made clear this wasn’t viewed as a simple rest week, but rather that it was seen by many as picking one competition over the other.

Zverev, Mensik, and Tien Prove It's Possible To Do Both

Not every player treated this as an either-or decision, with three prominent names taking part in both events: Alexander Zverev, Jakub Mensik, and Learner Tien.

Fresh off winning the US Open, Alexander Zverev didn’t take any time off. He flew back to play for Germany in its Davis Cup tie against Croatia, beating both Matej Dodig and Dino Prizmic in straight sets to send Germany through to the Final 8. From there, he headed straight to London as one of Team Europe’s top players for the upcoming Laver Cup.

Learner Tien and Jakub Mensik ended up on opposite sides of the same Davis Cup tie, and both will be rivals again in London this week. In the tie between the U.S. and the Czech Republic, Tien beat Mensik 6-2, 6-4 in the opening singles rubber, but Mensik came back to beat Shelton in the reverse singles. Afterward, Lehecka closed out the decisive fifth match over Tien, sending Czechia through 3-2 and eliminating the Americans.

Despite the result, both Tien and Mensik moved on to their next commitment at the Laver Cup, with Tien representing Team World and Mensik playing for Team Europe.

Between the three of them, it’s clear that the packed ATP calendar wasn’t an impossible obstacle. Zverev, Mensik, and Tien all found a way to represent their countries and still show up for the Laver Cup without missing a beat, even as a couple of the sport’s biggest stars decided the double commitment wasn’t worth the risk.

The Packed ATP Calendar

Side by side, these players’ decisions offer insight into how pro players are handling the packed ATP season, with two prestigious and points-free team events landing in the same short window. Zverev, Mensik, and Tien played both tournaments and let the chips fall where they may. Meanwhile, Shelton bet on his country and lost, and Alcaraz chose the Laver Cup and received some backlash.

With no ranking points on the line in either competition, their decisions came down to each player’s tolerance for risk, travel, and rest. In a sport filled with mandatory events that force its stars to play, this fall offered a glimpse into what happens when they actually have a choice of which events to prioritize.

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