The Laver Cup causes a exodus of favorites in the Asian tour
Most of the tennis players who competed in the acclaimed tournament at the O2 Arena in London have been eliminated early in the ATP events in Tokyo and Beijing.
The hangover from the Laver Cup has been stronger than ever in 2026, resulting in the elimination of up to 9 participants from the competition held at the O2 Arena in London during the Asian tour. Brandon Nakashima, Taylor Fritz, Ignacio Buse, Alexander Bublik, Arthur Fery, Casper Ruud, Rafael Jódar, Flavio Cobolli, and Learner Tien fell in the first round of the tournaments in Beijing and Tokyo, and only Carlos Alcaraz, Francisco Cerúndolo, Jakub Mensik, Alexander Zverev, and Alex de Miñaur managed to advance.
The Laver Cup is played on an unconventional indoor hard court, with conditions very different from those of the tournaments in Asia. Additionally, they barely had days to adapt to the tournaments, and due to rain, Alcaraz revealed that he couldn’t test the surface until the warm-up on the day of his debut. These factors, combined with travel and physical fatigue, have led to a flight of favorites that could be anticipated given the context of the situation.
At the ATP tournament in Tokyo, Alcaraz has been the only survivor, and just barely. The Spanish player had to go to a third set against Alex Michelsen but ultimately managed to pull through. On the other hand, Nakashima put in a very poor performance against Humbert, Fery succumbed in 3 sets to Jaime Faria, Ruud wasn’t sharp at all against Luciano Darderi, Fritz ended up unable to move due to physical issues against Jaume Munar, and Jódar played a very disappointing match against Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, managing only 4 games.
A situation no one can complain about
At the ATP tournament in Beijing, the results have been more balanced, as Zverev convincingly surpassed his debut against Cameron Norrie in his attempt to win the tournament and close the gap to number 1 Jannik Sinner. Alex de Miñaur also had a very good debut against Mariano Navone, while Francisco Cerúndolo had to come back against the always tricky Botic Van de Zandschulp. Additionally, fate had Jakub Mensik and Alexander Bublik face off in the first round, rivals also in the Laver Cup, and it was the Czech who came out on top.
Ignacio Buse also fell decisively against Quentin Halys in two sets, and Flavio Cobolli barely managed 5 games against Roman Safiullin. Beyond the results, the players involved in the Laver Cup can hardly complain, as it was their decision to compete in an event that does not award ATP points considering everything it could imply afterwards.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La Laver Cup provoca una fuga de favoritos en la gira asiática