"We got sandwiched in between NBA and the Super Bowl" - Roger Federer's agent explains exactly why San Francisco became Laver Cup 2025 destination

Roger Federer's agent and TEAM8 CEO Tony Godsick revealed this week what motivated the Laver Cup organizers to bring the eighth edition of the competition to San Fransico. According to the former IMG agent, it was his Steve Zacks—co-creator of the Laver Cup—who put the idea in his head that the tennis event could potentially compete with this year's NBA All-Star Game (held in February this year) and the Super Bowl LX.

In 2017, Federer joined forces with his long-time agent Tony Godsick and marketing mogul Steve Zacks to bring forth the Laver Cup - a three-day exhibition event with a format similar to that of the Ryder Cup that would pay homage to the Aussie legend Rod Laver. Over the years, Team Europe and Team World have taken their rivalry to countries like the USA, the UK, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic, with the former country having held the most installments of the competition thus far (3).

On Friday (September 19), Godsick and Zacks convened a press conference in San Francisco, where the duo discussed their motivation behind holding the 2025 edition of the Laver Cup in the "Bay Area" - one of the most luxurious regions in the USA.

"He (Steve) said, 'The Bay Area is going to be the epicenter of sports here in the next year. We've got the NBA All-Star game. We've got the Laver Cup, and then we've got the Super Bowl,'" Roger Federer's agent Tony Godsick revealed on Friday. "I said to Steve after, 'We just got sandwiched in between the NBA and the Super Bowl.' That is the greatest compliment that you can have."

The 49-year-old also compared the San Francisco Bay Area to California and why it makes sense for the best male tennis players in the world to play there.

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Roger Federer's agent Tony Godsick details how USA's connectivity encourages ATP Tour travel

Laver Cup 2025 - Previews - Source: Getty

Roger Federer and Tony Godsick have worked together ever since the 20-time Major champion made a name for himself by winning one Grand Slam tournament after another in the 2000s. After Federer left IMG in 2012, Godsick followed suit by quitting the global media and events company. Since then, he has represented the former World No. 1's business interests by forming the sports and entertainment agency TEAM8.

In that vein, the fact that the famous agent wants to take care of the players competing at the 2025 Laver Cup doesn't come as a surprise. During his interview, he cited the example of the Indian Wells Masters, which follows up on the post-Australian Open swing in Asia and precedes the European claycourt season, as a big tournament with optimal connectivity to the rest of the world. This, in turn, helps the top ATP pros to save up their energy reserves during travel.

"You see the success of Indian Wells. It's a huge tennis state. It's accessible. Everything about this place to run an event like this, which is global, is perfect. I mean, honestly, this airport is so close," Godsick said. "You can get anywhere. The guys are off to Asia. They can get on nonstop flights to any, Japan, China, whatever you want to do. They're nonstop flights."

Day 1 of this year's Laver Cup, meanwhile, got off to a grand start as Team Europe won three of their four matches to run off to a 3-1 lead.

Edited by Rudra Biswas