The Laver Cup pits two teams comprising the finest male tennis players in the world against one another in an unusual three-day format.
While the sport is often a somewhat lonely pursuit, particularly for those players who never usually partake in doubles matches, the Laver Cup offers a collaborative shot at glory. Representatives of each team face off in singles and doubles matches to compete for points, and the team with the most points at the end of the weekend wins. You can see why it’s been referred to as the Ryder Cup of tennis.
Singles and doubles participants are roared on court-side by their teammates, which can make for some brilliant spectacles — not least when a match is decided by a dramatic final-set tie-break.
The Sporting News looks at how those match tie-breaks work, and why they are a little different to those seen in the majors.
MORE: A complete guide to the Laver Cup — format, scheduling and more
Laver Cup tie-break rules: How the match tiebreaker works
All Laver Cup matches are best of three sets, both in singles and doubles. If a player (or pair) wins the first two sets, they win the match. If it’s 1-1 after those two sets, a third set is played, but as a so-called super tie-break.
A super (or match) tie-break is where a deciding set is played in a tie-break format, albeit one with a slight difference. In a normal tie-break — those used to decide a set of tennis when the scores are 6-6 — the first player to reach seven points and with a two-point lead wins the set. In a match tie-break, a player must reach a minimum of 10 points with a two-point lead. The first to do so wins the tie-break, and the match.
The player who was due to serve first in the set takes the first serve of the tie-break. From there, the play alternates, with the server changing after every two points. That means a player must win at least one point against the other’s serve in order to win the breaker.
Unlike the modern grand-slam tournaments, in which deciding sets are played as normal and a match tie-break used only if the scores are level at six games each, third sets in the Laver Cup go straight into the tie-break decider.
MORE: How the Laver Cup points-scoring system works
How often have match tie-breaks been played in the Laver Cup?
Match tie-breaks are pretty common at the Laver Cup given the high level of competition. In the inaugural edition in 2017, six matches went to a decider, including the final singles contest, in which Roger Federer defeated Nick Kyrgios 4–6, 7–6 (8–6), [11–9].
Overall, 39 Laver Cup matches in history have been decided by a match tie-break. The most in any one edition was in 2018 and 2019, when eight match tie-breaks took place; the fewest was in 2023, when the doubles match between Arthur Fils / Andrey Rublev and Tommy Paul / Frances Tiafoe was the only one to go to three sets. Paul and Tiafoe triumphed 3–6, 6–4, [6–10] to help Team World to an emphatic 13-2 victory.
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