The Laver Cup, which is the tennis world's equivalent of golf's Ryder Cup, pitting European players against Americans and others from the rest of the world, is headed for the first time to SF's Chase Center at the end of the summer.

San Francisco isn't a frequent stop for professional tennis players, and the Bay Area hasn't even seen a men's pro tennis event since 2018 — and even that was an exhibition event, one of Roger Federer's "Match for Africa" fundraisers, at San Jose's SAP Center.

But the Laver Cup selected San Francisco and the Chase Center for this year's venue, and the event will take place from September 19 to 21, as the SF Business Times is reporting.

"This is a market that is thirsty for tennis," says Laver Cup Chairman Tony Godsick, the longtime agent of Roger Federer and husband of former tennis player turned TV tennis analyst Mary Joe Fernanadez.  Godsick and Laver Cup CEO Steve Zacks tell the Business Times that they selected San Francisco both for its tennis fandom, and because it has all the hotels, airports, infrastructure, restaurants, and other fun non-tennis activities that big events like this require.

"San Francisco is on a roll with the NBA All-Star Game and the Super Bowl," Zacks tells the Business Times. "We are excited to be part of this party."

And the event will be a boon for the region economically, with cities typically seeing $58 million to $90 million in economic impacts from the event — which was launched in 2016 by Federer and Godsick, honoring tennis great Rod Laver. It's not clear if Laver himself, who is now 86, will attend this year's event.

But, the Laver Cup tends to attract tennis legends, with Team Europe and Team World each having a big-name captain. This year, Andre Agassi will take over from John McEnroe as captain of Team World, and France's Yannick Noah taking over from Bjorn Borg as captain of Team Europe.

The Laver Cup has been an officially sanctioned part of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) tour since 2019. It features six players on each team, in addition to the captain, with three players selected based on their world rankings. For now, we know that Team World will include American players Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, and Ben Shelton, all of whom have played in the Laver Cup at least one of the last several years. Team Europe will include Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz, who are currently ranked #2 and #3 in the world, respectively. The #1 player in the world, Italy's Jannik Sinner, seems likely to be in the mix as well.

Three other members of each team will be announced later — with the "captain's picks" for Team World announced at the US Open in August.

Before Alcaraz and Zverev joined Team Europe in 2024 — when they helped defeat Team World 13-11 — Team World dominated for two years, in 2022 and 2023, defeating Team Europe 13-8 and 13-2.

The Laver Cup has its own hard-court surface that it will be importing to install at the Chase Center for the series of 12 matches over three days — nine singles matches, and three doubles. The first team to 13 points wins the tournament, with matches worth one point on Day 1, two points on Day 2, and three points on Day 3. And each is a three-set match, with the unconventional use of a ten-point tie-break set if it becomes tied 1-1.

Godsick tells the Business Times that an annual group photo with all the players will be taken in some iconic location — likely by the Golden Gate Bridge. And that you might see some big tennis stars out and about in SF over the weekend.

"I do know that there is a conversation amongst a lot of players," Godsick says. "It's a city that most of the players haven't been to for obvious reasons because there isn't a reason to be in San Francisco or the Bay Area. So I believe there is going to be a lot of sightseeing."

The only significant pro tennis tournament in the Bay Area, in women's tennis, was the Bank of the West tournament that had been played in San Jose until 2023, but that has since moved to Washington, DC. So the excitement among tennis fans from far and wide will likely be high.

Laver Cup ticket packages are already on sale, with Friday ticket packages starting at $142, and whole-tournament packages starting at $525 (for the nosebleed seats).

Top image: Todd Woodbridge speaks to the crowd during the trophy ceremony after Team Europe wins the Laver Cup 2024 on day three of the Laver Cup at Uber Arena on September 22, 2024 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Gerald Matzka/Getty Images for Laver Cup)