The 2026 Laver Cup in London ended with a Europe win, but one of the week’s warmest stories was a lunch. Carlos Alcaraz said that Roger Federer joined them at the team’s shared table: he simply took a plate and sat down nearby. The Spaniard’s words, spoken after the victory, were reported by Diario AS on September 28.

Lunch without ceremony

According to Alcaraz, it all happened very casually. The team was having lunch, and at some point Federer came out to join them. The tournament co-founder and one of the main figures in tennis history took a plate and sat at the table with the players. Carlos did not reveal the content of the conversation.

We were having lunch, and suddenly Roger came in, took a plate and sat down to have lunch with us... I’m not going to say what we talked about - that will stay between us, but it was great. — Carlos Alcaraz (AS paraphrase)api.tennis

Spanish Eurosport released a separate video about that lunch. In it, Alcaraz says: “I was able to ask him about a lot of things.” The questions and answers remained at the table.

A week alongside legends

Federer spent the entire tournament week in London. He attended the Opening Night Gala, where the legends spoke with the players. The organizers dedicated a separate room to him at The O2. There Federer took photos and talked with Rod Laver and Carlos Alcaraz.

I’m trying to make the most of my time here at the Laver Cup to talk to Rod [Laver]. It’s a privilege to be around such a legend. — Carlos Alcaraz (ASAP Sports transcript, September 26)api.tennis

The meeting with Federer at the Laver Cup was not Alcaraz’s first. Back in 2024, as ATP Tour wrote, he spoke about how important it was for him to play at this tournament in front of Federer, calling it a moment he had “dreamed about for a long time.”

Federer’s tournament in Federer’s city

The Laver Cup, the team competition between Europe and the World, was created by Federer’s company TEAM8 together with Tennis Australia and the ATP. The ninth edition took place on September 25-27 at The O2 Arena. London is a special city for Federer: it was there, at the 2022 Laver Cup, that he ended his career.

In 2025, the World won the trophy in San Francisco. In 2026, Europe brought the cup back. The team was led for the second year in a row by Yannick Noah, with Tim Henman as vice-captain. Europe’s lineup featured Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud, Jakub Menšík, Flavio Cobolli and Rafael Jódar.

What happened on court

At the Laver Cup, the value of a win rises each day: on Friday a match is worth one point, on Saturday two, on Sunday three. To win the trophy, a team needs 13. On the first day, Alcaraz teamed up with Jakub Menšík to beat Taylor Fritz and Alexander Bublik 6-4, 6-4. “We complement each other,” Menšík later said about his partnership with the Spaniard.

On Saturday, in the seventh match, Alcaraz beat Fritz 6-3, 4-6, 13-11 and brought Europe two points. According to the organizers, that match was key to turning the second day in Europe’s favor.

Alexander Zverev sealed it. He beat Learner Tien 7-6(3), 6-3, and the final score in the competition was 13-5 in Europe’s favor. “Winning as a team - there is nothing better in sport... It was a team effort,” Zverev said after the match.

The next table will be in Los Angeles

What Alcaraz and Federer discussed over lunch will never be known to the public: Carlos decided it would “stay between us.” The next Laver Cup, the 10th edition, will be held on September 24-26, 2027 in Los Angeles, at Intuit Dome.