Want to be part of the biggest tennis event to hit Chicago in decades? Here’s your chance.
The Laver Cup is holding tryouts for ball kids Monday at the Midtown Athletic Club, 2444 N. Elston Ave. Registration begins at 4 p.m. Former tennis pro and Team World vice captain Patrick McEnroe will oversee the tryout drills.
Named after legendary player Rod Laver, the Laver Cup began in 2017 as a competition between Team Europe and Team World. Team Europe won the inaugural event last September in Prague.
This year’s tournament will be held Sept. 21-23 at the United Center. Details and ticket information can be found at lavercup.com.
Six players on each side will compete in a series of singles and doubles matches over a three-day stretch. ATP rankings will determine four of the six players on each side, and the remaining two players will be captain’s picks. John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg are the 2018 Team World and Team Europe captains, respectively.
John McEnroe, Roger Federer and Laver visited Chicago in March to promote the event. It was Federer’s first trip to the city. The Swiss-born Federer, who has won a male record 20 Grand Slam titles and is ranked No. 2 in the world behind Spain’s Rafael Nadal, plans to play for Team Europe at the United Center in September.
“I don’t want to say you always go to the same places (on tour), but when there’s not a tournament in town, it’s hard to go to sometimes unless you plan a vacation,” Federer said in March. “And usually when I come to America … I go to New York, I go to Indian Wells (Calif.), I go to Miami, I go to Cincinnati.
“And the next thing you know … you haven’t been in a few places you’ve actually wanted to go to. And Chicago’s definitely one of the places I’ve wanted to come to, and then let alone play as well, and so now this year I’ll get both, which I’m very excited.”
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