Sadiq Khan has joined forces with the Laver Cup and the Lawn Tennis Association to make this month’s return of elite international tennis to London more accessible, with thousands of
discounted and free tickets being offered to residents across the capital.
Londoners will be given the chance to watch some of the biggest names in men’s tennis at a reduced price when the Laver Cup returns to The O2 from September 25 to 27.
Under a new partnership involving the Mayor of London, the Laver Cup, the LTA and the LTA Tennis Foundation, 1,000 tickets will be offered at a special price of £25 before VAT and booking fees. The initiative is aimed at lowering the financial barrier for Londoners who might otherwise struggle to attend a major international sporting event.
A further 2,000-plus young people will be able to attend the tournament’s Open Practice Day free of charge on September 24. Tickets will be distributed through schools and youth organisations across the capital.
The measures form part of Mr Khan’s wider push to make London’s major sporting events more accessible and to encourage greater participation in tennis. His administration has also backed the Rally Together London programme, designed to expand opportunities to play and engage with the sport across the city.
Tennis's biggest names return to London
The 2026 Laver Cup will bring together Team Europe and Team World for three days of competition featuring some of the leading players on the men’s tour.
Among those expected on court are seven-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz, French Open champion Alexander Zverev, Flavio Cobolli, Ben Shelton, Alex de Minaur and Taylor Fritz.
The European side will be led by former French tennis great Yannick Noah, with former British No.1 Tim Henman serving as vice-captain. Team World will be captained by American legend Andre Agassi, assisted by Australian former Grand Slam champion Pat Rafter.
The tournament's format is designed to create match-ups rarely seen on the conventional tennis calendar, with players who normally compete against one another joining forces as teammates.
That distinctive format, combined with the event’s black court and team atmosphere, has helped establish the Laver Cup as one of the most distinctive events in the international tennis calendar.
London gets a second turn
The tournament's return to the capital carries particular significance.
London first hosted the Laver Cup in 2022, when The O2 became the setting for Roger Federer’s final professional match. Federer played doubles alongside Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray in one of the most memorable moments in recent tennis history.
Four years later, the competition is returning to the same venue, giving London the distinction of becoming the first city to host the Laver Cup twice.
For the Mayor, however, the significance extends beyond the sporting spectacle.
“London is the undisputed sporting capital of the world and I am delighted we are hosting the Laver Cup at The O2 later this month,” Sadiq Khan said.
He added that he wanted Londoners “to have the opportunity to experience world class major sporting events in our city”, describing the partnership as a way to provide access to “world class tennis” at reduced or no cost.
The Mayor also highlighted London's status as the first city to host the competition on two occasions.
A push to broaden the audience
Laver Cup chief executive Steve Zacks said the organisation wanted its return to London to leave a legacy beyond the three days of competition.
“We’re delighted to work with the Mayor of London and the LTA to give more Londoners the opportunity to experience the Laver Cup,” he said.
Zacks said the discounted tickets and free access for young people were intended to introduce the event to new audiences while building on the community work associated with the tournament's 2022 London edition.
The initiative is particularly focused on younger Londoners, with schools and youth organisations being used to distribute the free practice-day tickets.
For the organisers and City Hall, the aim is not simply to fill seats but to use the arrival of an international sporting event to encourage a new generation to engage with tennis.
How Londoners can access the £25 tickets
The discounted allocation consists of 1,000 tickets, available on a first-come, first-served basis across all five sessions of the tournament.
The offer opens at 10am BST on September 8 and runs until 11.59pm BST on September 14, or until the allocation is exhausted.
Tickets have a face price of £25, with VAT and fees bringing the total cost to £36.25 per ticket. Each buyer can purchase up to six tickets.
Bookings are being handled through AXS, the official ticketing partner of The O2.
Seats will be allocated approximately 48 hours before the event begins, meaning buyers will not know their precise seat location when making their booking. The tickets are also subject to restrictions on resale.
The Laver Cup itself runs from September 25 to 27, while the free Open Practice Day for young Londoners takes place on September 24.
With some of the world's leading players returning to The O2 and the Mayor seeking to broaden access to major sporting events, the partnership represents an attempt to combine London's global sporting ambitions with a more local promise: that elite sport should not be reserved only for those who can afford premium tickets. Photo by Vladsinger at English Wikipedia, Wikimedia commons.
