John McEnroe is a legend of the sport and has often proven that he has tennis’ best interests at heart.
The 2025 ATP season is now just a few short weeks away as fans prepare for another year of thrilling action in men’s tennis.
In 2024 we saw the emergence of Jannik Sinner who won the Australian Open, US Open, and ATP Finals, all whilst becoming world number one.
Carlos Alcaraz won the French Open and Wimbledon titles, as he continued to establish himself as one of the world’s best.
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Novak Djokovic won Olympic Gold in Paris, fulfilling a lifelong dream, but failed to pick up a Major title for the first time since 2017.
Plenty of tennis to keep fans entertained, but one American legend thinks that two events on the calendar have seen better days.
John McEnroe says the tennis establishment is completely ‘butchering’ the Davis Cup and Laver Cup
Speaking on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, McEnroe looked back upon his Davis Cup career with Team USA.
“I was fortunate enough to be part of a team, and I liked to be part of the team,” he said.
“When they put USA on your back it was one of the greatest feelings I ever had as a tennis player.
“It meant a lot to me, Davis Cup, I was part of five Davis Cup teams who won.”
McEnroe won the Davis Cup five times between 1978 and 1992 but feels as though his legacy in the competition has been forgotten.
“I am going to ask you a question, how many people do you think have come up to me and asked how many Davis Cups I have won in the last 20 years?” he said.
“None. Not one person has come up to me about my Davis Cup experience.
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“That to me is seriously sad.
“They are just butchering this beyond belief, the tennis authorities, unwilling to make changes which had to be made.
“I lost a bunch of matches going to other countries, but it was also to experience that, going to other countries.”
The Davis Cup has been criticized in recent years for a format change that saw home and away ties removed in the latter stages of the competition.
The American has been heavily involved in the Laver Cup, a competition that began in 2017 and pits the best from Europe against the best from around the world.
McEnroe served as Team World captain from 2017-2024 but now feels as if the tennis establishment is once again letting down one of its biggest tournaments.
Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images for Laver Cup
“The idea was to have it like the Ryder Cup in golf, I think they did that and they did that successfully,” said McEnroe.
“The energy has been incredible.
“But, of course, the tennis establishment is trying to ruin that also. Unbelievably.
“This should be nurtured, it should be a great thing, they should give it time in the calendar.
“But no, they don’t do that, they put an event right before and after in China, and then you have got to go to the Far East the next week, so it’s really sad to see.”
What happened at the 2023 Laver Cup that proves John McEnroe right
The 2023 Laver Cup saw Team World defend their title against Team Europe 13-2, in a dominant display.
What was perhaps most interesting about the tournament, however, was the line-up that the Europeans fielded.
Despite boasting nine of the world’s top ten players, the busy ATP schedule forced captain Bjorn Borg into selecting several lower-ranked players for Team Europe.
ATP RankName1Novak Djokovic2Carlos Alcaraz3Daniil Medvedev4Casper Ruud 5Stefanos Tsitsipas6Holger RuneHypothetical 2023 Team Europe line-upATP RankName4Casper Ruud7Andrey Rublev14Hubert Hurkacz33Alejandro Davidovich Fokina35 (PR)Gael Monfils66Arthur Fils2023 Team Europe line-up
A much weaker Team Europe struggled against their international counterparts, as the likes of Djokovic, Alcaraz, and Daniil Medvedev all skipped the event.
It was the European’s highest-ranked player, Casper Ruud who picked up their only points of the event, as he took down Tommy Paul on day two.
The events place in the tennis calendar may well be holding it back, just as McEnroe mentioned, as eight of the top ten ranked European players made the trip to Beijing, for the ATP 500 tournament the week after the Laver Cup.
It remains a successful event, however, and one that tennis fans look forward to every year, but there will no doubt be more questions asked in 2025 should more big names pull out of the tournament.
The 2025 Laver Cup is set to begin on September 19 in San Francisco, USA.
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