‘Elitist’ Laver Cup slammed for setting ‘exorbitant’ ticket prices at 2022 London event
Ticket prices skyrocketed after Roger Federer announced that the 2022 Laver Cup will be his last professional tournament before retirement
Disappointed tennis fans have criticized ticket prices at the recently concluded Laver Cup in London with the best seat at the O2 arena reportedly sold for as much as 45090 pounds. With Swiss maestro Roger Federer‘s retirement generating extreme buzz, all the tickets were picked up long before the event.
On Sunday, the 2022 Laver Cup concluded in stellar fashion with Team World winning their first-ever title in the fifth year running. Team World’s Felix Auger Aliassiame sent shock waves across Team Europe’s bench when he beat former World No.1 Novak Djokovic.
Later, Frances Tiafoe sealed a memorable win for Team World with a tight win over Team Europe’s Stefanos Tsitsipas. However, many enthusiasts expressed their discontentment on Twitter following the event, calling tennis an ‘elitist’ sport.
“Me, a person who understands that accessibility is important in sports, events like this only increase the elitist image of tennis and more popular sports can be seen in London for less money: not really,” wrote one such Twitter user.
Are fans ready to pay the price at Laver Cup?
Some people also justified the rise in prices using the demand-and-supply economics principle. One user commented, “Me, a person who studied economics in high school: if the stands were full, the prices were justified.”
However, some spectators were simply frustrated with the fact that they had to shell out more money for the same view compared to previous Laver Cup events, especially because the base price initially was the same for both Geneva and London.
The 2022 Laver Cup was probably one of the most sought-after editions in the event’s history, with the Big 4 all present and part of Team Europe i.e. Djokovic, Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray. The first day of the event on Friday saw Nadal and Federer teaming up for doubles.
The doubles was billed as the Swiss maestro’s last professional match before retirement. Federer was given a huge reception by players from both teams who carried him over their shoulders in what was a tearful exit for both fans and competitors present at the arena.
FS Desk
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