The top three-ranked European players receive an automatic invitation to the Laver Cup every year to make up Team Europe. Given this rule, the absence of World No. 1 Jannik Sinner from the Roger-Federer-backed event has often sparked speculation among fans and insiders. Jose Moron, however, has attributed the Italian’s absence from the event to the lack of a relationship between him and Federer.
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“Sinner has never participated in Federer’s Laver Cup. Asked about it last year, the Italian argued that it was because it hadn’t fit into his schedule. Is that really the case?” asked Moron on X. “Upon a little investigation, it seems that the relationship between the two is not very smooth, precisely.”
Sinner indeed cited his event scheduling as a prime reason for skipping the Laver Cup when the question was posed to him at the 2025 US Open. The Italian is not averse to skipping high-profile events and prioritizing his health. Just last year, the World No.1 got a lot of criticism from his home media for skipping his Davis Cup commitments to make sure that he was ready for the 2026 season. This year has already seen the Italian sidelined for more than two months, including skipping the US Open, while he recovers from a knee injury.
On the other hand, the Italian has shown his inclination towards playing exhibition events. For the past two years, the World No.1 has been part of the Six Kings Slam, an exhibition event in the Middle East that has offered massive cheques to top players like Sinner and Alcaraz to come and play. Sinner’s decision to choose the exhibition event over Federer’s brainchild event was also highlighted by Moron.
“I’m taking advantage of this to clarify something I mentioned earlier. I’ve never talked about a bad relationship between Sinner and Federer, but rather that “they have no relationship,” said Moron on X. “That’s very different. That said, I’ll throw out a question: If the Six Kings Slam and the Laver were swapped in the calendar… which one would Jannik go to?”
At its peak, the Laver Cup brought legends like Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic together for Team Europe and gave fans a unique experience of watching the legendary trio as part of the same team. Given that Sinner’s closest rivals, including Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz, have already been part of the event and will be again this year, the Italian’s absence robs the audience of the chance to watch the top players of the current generation play together.
While there have been no open rifts between Federer and Sinner, Moron has emphasized the distant nature of the relationship between the two, while the Swiss has a more cordial relationship with Sinner’s rival, Alcaraz.
The Relationship Between Roger Federer and Jannik Sinner Has Been a Limited One
Moron has dug deep into the apparent lack of relationship between Sinner and Federer, finding that the two do not follow each other on social media. While Federer had some practice sessions with the Italian back in 2019, when Sinner was still a teenager, the two do not have many shared matches.
“I’m not saying they get along badly, because I don’t think that’s the case; rather, their relationship is practically nonexistent. For some reason, Roger and Jannik just don’t get along. Sinner follows Djokovic or Nadal on Instagram, but not Roger. The Swiss, for his part, follows Alcaraz, but not Jannik,” said Moron on X. “There are barely a couple of photos of the two of them together over all these years. The last one, from a while back. And it’s not like they haven’t crossed paths at tournaments. In fact, Roger has shown up, already retired, at various tournaments where the Italian was playing, but while he’s shared time and photos/videos with Alcaraz, he hasn’t with Jannik.”
Being at the same events is a valid point made by Moron, as Federer was at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, where Sinner was also in action, but there were no photos of the two together. Back in 2025, the Swiss had attended the Italian’s match against Grigor Dimitrov at SW19, but once again, there were no clicks between the two.
On the other hand, Federer has had a closer bond with Alcaraz. Aside from praising the Spaniard’s electric game, Federer has often shared clips with the seven-time champion. Ahead of the Laver Cup in San Francisco last year, the two were spotted together having a golf session with each other. Even back in the 2024 Shanghai Masters, Federer sat with Alcaraz in the stands to watch the final between Sinner and Djokovic.
While it is expected that Sinner would soon be part of the Laver Cup, the high-profile event is without the No.1 player in the world for now, as it is scheduled to begin on September 25 in London.