A Cup in hand

They battled for three days to get their hands on the Laver Cup. Now, each player from the winning Team Europe side will take home their own Laver Cup trophy.

The coveted Laver Cup, hand-crafted from solid sterling silver, was won by Team Europe in a high-spirited contest in September 2017, inspired by Rod Laver’s legacy.

Team Europe, represented by Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Marin Cilic, Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, Tomas Berdych and Fernando Verdasco, and captained by 11-time Grand Slam singles champion Bjorn Borg with vice captain Thomas Enqvist, stormed to a high-voltage victory over Team World in the inaugural team competition.

Rivals became teammates, and celebrated with unrivaled passion befitting this unique collection of world-class players, intent on lighting the flame of a bold new event and winning glory for their side of the world.

The gleaming trophy, standing at 66 centimeters high, is currently with its makers in London, silversmiths Thomas Lyte, in  preparation for the year ahead. The work includes refurbishment and polish after the exuberant celebration of Team Europe, and most importantly, the engraving of each of the winner’s names into its base.

Then just this week, on the other side of the world at the Australian Open in Melbourne, members of the victorious Team Europe reunited with Australian legend Rod Laver, who personally presented each player with their own Laver Cup. Each player was given a personalized engraved half-height replica of the full-size trophy.

Just as the Laver Cup trophy features design elements that honor Laver’s unrivaled tennis achievements, so do each of the player’s personalized trophies. Shaped to reflect Laver’s much-loved moniker, ‘Rocket’, the Laver Cup handles are curved, coming together to signify rivals becoming teammates. The 200 notches on the rim of the trophy signify Rod Laver’s career titles, with the duplication of four rings at its base representing his Grand Slam sweeps in 1962 and 1969. Each element of the original is visible on the individual player trophies.

Laver has said, “Every win, of course, had its significance during my career but to see them represented collectively so beautifully all these years later is extremely special.”

Said Laver, “I love that each player on the winning team will get their own trophy. It was an unforgettable experience, we were all so pleased with the competition and the nail-biting victory of Team Europe.”

Laver is in Melbourne to witness the Australian Open unfold, and Federer’s quest for a 20th Grand Slam singles title, where he is the defending champion. The hopes of  several members of Team Europe and Team World remain alive in the men’s draw as the Slam enters its second week.