Tennis

Rod Laver Announced That He Will Not Attend The 2025 Australian Open

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By
wendioliveros
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wendioliveros Sports Editor

Wendi Oliveros is a diehard tennis fan that is known to set her clock at ridiculous hours to watch live action especially during the Australian Open. She is known for indulging in strawberries and cream during Wimbledon and has watched the US Open live several times.

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Sports Editor

Published28 Dec 2024

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Rod Laver

Australia’s most famous tennis legend, “Rocket” Rod Laver, announced that he will not attend the 2025 Australian Open.  The 86-year-old did not specify why he would not be in the stands at the arena named after him watching the action.

Laver did say that he will be watching from afar though fans will miss his presence at Rod Laver Arena.

No Australian tennis player is as famous as Laver.   Some view him as the best player ever.  His career was at an interesting time in tennis history.  Rod Laver played as an amateur and a professional before and after the Open Era.   He was the first tennis player to earn over one million dollars in career prize money.

He won 11 Grand Slam singles tournaments, winning all four Grand Slam tournaments in the same year twice (1962 and 1969).  Steffi Graf is the only player to win the Grand Slam since Laver did; she won it in 1988 along with the Olympic gold medal, completing the Golden Slam.

Though Laver is known for his singles success, he was also an accomplished doubles player. He won six Grand Slams in doubles and three mixed doubles.

Laver retired in 1979, but his legacy lives on at his namesake arena in Melbourne and through the Laver Cup, an annual exhibition tournament featuring the world’s best players.  They are divided into Team Europe and Team World. Laver Cup was started by Roger Federer in 2017.  Its location changes each year.  It will be held in San Francisco in 2025 with new captains Yannick Noah and Andre Agassi.  Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe stepped down after seven years at their respective helms.