Secondary market ticket rate soars to Rs 50 lakh but Roger Federer’s Laver Cup participation remains in doubt

Roger Federer announced last week that the Laver Cup will be the final competitive tennis appearance of his 24-year-long career. After the 41-year-old’s knee injury woes, which have required multiple surgeries, speculation had been rife over the timing of his retirement, having not competed on tour regularly since 2020.
Following his announcement, Laver Cup’s ticket sales went through the roof, and according to the Sunday Times, they were resold in the range of over 55,000 – 59,000 punds (over Rs 50,00,000). Prominent journals and fans also began uploading the ticket prices on social media that comfortably crossed the 30,000-pound mark.

Friend sent this. First reaction: “how dasteful they would sell tickets to Queen’s Funeral.”…it’s Laver Cup pic.twitter.com/0kyl0lmYhs
— Jon Wertheim (@jon_wertheim) September 18, 2022
But Federer’s participation at the marquee event still remains in doubt. His physical trainer of more than 20 years, Pierre Paganini, told Swiss news outlet Blick that the 20-time Grand Slam singles champion is still unsure about playing at the 02 Arena in London later this week.
“He (Federer) will probably decide that at the last moment,” Paganini said. “He’s trained to have as much information as possible about whether it’s a good idea or not. I am excited.”
Paganini also revealed that he felt the 41-year-old’s decision to hang up his racquet was ultimately the wise one and has been in the works since July, given the great effort it was taking him to play at relatively low intensity. I think it’s a smart decision. It’s not just about the knee”,” he said. “Roger has played a lot of matches in his career and put his body under extreme strain. He’s had to put in an incredible amount of effort in recent years to compete at a world-class level.”

To my tennis family and beyond,
With Love,Roger pic.twitter.com/1UISwK1NIN
— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) September 15, 2022
Even if Federer is not at 100% at the Laver Cup, he should still be well in tune to play doubles. The rules of the event prevent that though. The marquee exhibition inspired golf’s Ryder Cup, founded the Swiss’ management company Team8, requires each of the six players representing the two teams (Europe and Rest of the World) to play at least one singles match.
The rules may cause an issue for both Federer and the competition’s other big draw, Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard, along with Federer’s other great rivals Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, will be playing alongside Federer with Team Europe. But Nadal may not be at full fitness to play singles either, so tweaking of the rules may be required to make sure the famous ‘Fedal’ partnership is seen one last time.
Other members of Team Europe include Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas, as well as alternate Matteo Berrettini, who may be called upon in case of Federer’s physical issues.
Given Federer’s own stake in the event, whose lack of star power in 2021 has been over-corrected massively this year, and the timing of his announcement, it is unlikely that he decides not to play at all in London this week. To what extent can he compete, will be another question.