Alexander Zverev delivered the decisive performance when Team Europe needed it most, defeating Learner Tien to secure the Laver Cup winner title for Europe at The O2 in London.
The German star beat Team World’s Tien 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 on Sunday to seal a 13-5 victory for Team Europe and bring the trophy back to the European side. The result completed a memorable three-day contest and gave Europe its sixth Laver Cup title.
Zverev’s victory was particularly significant because he had been beaten by Alex de Minaur on the second day of the competition. With Team Europe needing two match wins on the final day, the pressure was firmly on Yannick Noah’s team.
But Europe responded in style.
Zverev finishes the job for Team Europe
The final day began with Flavio Cobolli and Jakub Mensik facing Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur in the doubles.
Cobolli and Mensik produced an important 7-5, 6-3 victory, giving Team Europe a 10-5 lead and leaving the team just one win away from reaching the 13 points required to win the competition.
That meant everything came down to Zverev against 20-year-old American Learner Tien.
The first set was closely fought. Tien held his nerve throughout and pushed the recently crowned US Open champion into a tiebreak. Zverev, however, found another level when it mattered, winning the breaker 7-3.
The second set was more straightforward for the German. Zverev controlled the important points, eventually closing out a 6-3 win in one hour and 48 minutes. The official Laver Cup results confirm that the victory gave Europe the three points needed to reach 13.
With that, Zverev became the man holding the final piece of the puzzle once again.
A remarkable Laver Cup record for Zverev
Zverev has become one of the most important players in Laver Cup history.
The 2026 triumph was his seventh appearance at the event and his sixth title with Team Europe. More remarkably, he has now clinched the competition four times himself, having previously delivered the decisive point in Chicago in 2018, Geneva in 2019 and Boston in 2021.
The official Laver Cup website also lists Zverev as the event’s all-time leading scorer, with 26 points accumulated across his appearances.
For a player who had just won his first US Open title earlier in September, the Laver Cup victory added another major highlight to an already extraordinary 2026 season.
Zverev arrived in London as a two-time Grand Slam champion after winning Roland Garros and the US Open, while also reaching the Wimbledon final.
His response after losing to De Minaur on Saturday was therefore one of the biggest talking points of the final day.
“I haven’t won a Laver Cup match in two years, so I’m happy I did it today,” Zverev said after his victory.
He also praised Team World and highlighted the importance of playing for something bigger than an individual result.
“Winning as a team, there’s no better feeling in sports,” he said.
Learner Tien shows his quality on debut
Although Tien ended the tournament on the losing side, the American youngster made a strong impression during his first Laver Cup appearance.
The 20-year-old had already produced one of the tournament’s eye-catching results by beating Flavio Cobolli in singles on Saturday. Tien won that match 6-3, 2-6, 10-7, earning two points for Team World and helping them move level with Europe.
His performance against Zverev was another indication of why he was selected for Andre Agassi’s Team World squad.
Tien did not allow the occasion to overwhelm him. He stayed with the US Open champion through the opening set and forced a tiebreak before Zverev eventually pulled away.
For Team World, however, the final result was a disappointment after they had won the previous year’s competition in San Francisco.
How Team Europe won the Laver Cup
The scoring system made the final result particularly interesting.
Matches on the opening day were worth one point, Saturday matches were worth two, while Sunday’s matches carried three points each. The first team to reach 13 points was crowned champion.
Europe made a strong start on Friday before Team World fought back on Saturday.
One of the biggest moments came when De Minaur recovered from losing the opening set against Zverev to win 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 11-9. That victory put Team World ahead 5-3 and temporarily shifted the momentum in their direction.
However, Europe regained control on the final day.
Cobolli and Mensik’s doubles win was worth three points, taking Europe from 7-5 to 10-5. Zverev then completed the job against Tien, giving Europe the championship with a final score of 13-5.
Europe reclaim the trophy
The 2026 result means Team Europe has now won six editions of the Laver Cup.
Europe previously lifted the trophy in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2024. Team World had won the previous three editions in 2022, 2023 and 2025, making this year’s tournament a return to the top for the European team.
The competition was held at London’s O2 Arena from September 25 to 27, with Yannick Noah leading Team Europe and Andre Agassi captaining Team World.
Interestingly, the 13-5 scoreline did not necessarily tell the whole story. Several matches were decided by tight tiebreaks, and the official Laver Cup report noted that players and captains felt the contest had been considerably closer than the final margin suggested.
For Zverev, though, the numbers that mattered most were simple: one victory, three points and another Laver Cup trophy for Team Europe.
And once again, when Europe needed someone to close the deal, Zverev was the player who stepped forward.
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