SEPT 20 - 22, 2024 | BERLIN
Twenty-four talented young tennis fans have taken the first steps in their journey to this year’s Laver Cup, acing the Berlin Ballkid Tryouts presented by UBS.
The team of 12 boys and 12 girls, aged 12-16, will play a critical role in the action on Laver Cup’s iconic black court at Uber Arena in Berlin from September 20-22, 2024.
Staged at two Berlin tennis clubs over one weekend in July, the tryouts attracted more than 350 applicants from across Europe, competing for the 24 coveted ballkid team spots.
The selected ballkids come from all over Germany (11 from Berlin, four from Brandenburg, two from Bavaria, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia), plus one is from Poland and one lives and trains at a tennis academy in France. Thirteen of the children selected have ballkid experience from previous events, whilst eleven are new to the experience.
The tryouts tested technical skills including rolling, throwing, speed, agility, coordination and balance, and assessed communication skills, endurance, teamwork and understanding of tennis scoring.
“There is much more to being a Laver Cup Ballkid than technical excellence,” said Laver Cup 2024 Ballkids Manager and team performance specialist, Sandra Karner.
“Laver Cup is a team event, and the chosen ballkids all showed themselves to be outstanding team-players, demonstrating self-motivation, a passion for tennis, resilience and endurance.”
For the first time this year, Laver Cup partner UBS, whose Global Brand Ambassador Roger Federer began his tennis career as a ball boy aged 12, is supporting the Ballkid Journey from tryouts to their first match on court.
“The Laver Cup 2024 Ballkid Journey is a unique opportunity for those participating to develop teamwork and responsibility, interact with their tennis heroes and create memories that will last a lifetime. It perfectly complements our other initiatives to promote a love for sports among children,” said John McDonald, Group Chief Marketing Officer and Head Group Brand & Marketing Innovation at UBS.
As their Ballkid Journey continues, the Laver Cup 2024 Ballkid Team, will hone their on-court craft with a series of skills-based training sessions encompassing ball retrieval, on-court etiquette and how to interact with players and officials, before taking to the court.
“Our goal is for the Laver Cup to leave a legacy beyond the court in every city we visit,” said Laver Cup CEO Steve Zacks. “The Laver Cup Ballkid Journey provides a platform for participation, learning, and inspiration, and for these 24 selected young people it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase their craft on a global stage in their home country.”
The Laver Cup is played over three days, using an exciting team format, on a dramatic black court. The competition pits six of the best players from Europe against six of their counterparts from the rest of the World with tennis legends and great rivals Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe captaining Team Europe and Team World respectively for the last time this year.
Tickets and hospitality packages are available via the Laver Cup website at lavercup.com/tickets.
