Roger Federer will not be striking a ball when the Laver Cup gets under way in London this weekend, but the tournament he helped launch can hardly move without him. The O2 has just unveiled the RF Room, the venue’s first backstage space named after an athlete, and Federer himself is due back in the building where he played the final professional match of his career in September 2022.
The dedication lands neatly on the numbers. Federer, who turned 45 in August and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, on 29 August 2026, has appeared at The O2 exactly 45 times, a record for any athlete or entertainer on the site. That figure runs through every corner of the room: a neon yellow racquet mounted above the door, a custom table tennis table with 45 paddles inside, 44 of them white and one, signed in black, set apart.
“The O2 will always be a very special place for me,” Federer said in the venue’s announcement.
“I have so many great memories of playing here over the years, and of course it’s where I played the final match of my career in 2022. To come back four years later and have a room here is a very special honor.”
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Federer returns as a spectator
The Swiss co-founded the Laver Cup in 2017 with his management company, but he has kept himself out of the on-court roles that come with it. Ahead of the London edition he made clear that he was coming back to The O2 this time as a spectator.
“I’m really looking forward to returning to such a meaningful place, this time as a fan, and experiencing the incredible Laver Cup atmosphere once again,” Federer said.
On court, Yannick Noah leads Team Europe with Tim Henman as vice-captain, and Andre Agassi is back in charge of Team World with Patrick Rafter alongside him, both captains returning for a second consecutive year. Team Europe’s line-up features Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud, Jakub Mensik, Flavio Cobolli and Rafael Jodar. Team World brings Taylor Fritz, Alex de Minaur, Alexander Bublik, Brandon Nakashima, Francisco Cerundolo and Learner Tien.
What Federer told GQ
Federer’s return to the venue coincides with an exclusive interview he gave to GQ magazine, in which the Swiss discussed the routines that shape his post-tennis life at 45. The piece covers his habit of skipping breakfast and the way his relationship with competitive pressure has softened away from the tour.
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Play runs from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 September at The O2, with the first team to reach 13 points from a possible 24 lifting the trophy.
