Roger Federer will step on the court for the final time Friday, Sept. 23 when he plays doubles with Rafael Nadal. The Laver Cup will be live streamed on DirecTV (free trial) and fuboTV (free trial).
It was quite a collection of tennis luminaries sharing the black indoor hard court for a Laver Cup doubles practice session Thursday, 66 Grand Slam titles among them, a group collectively nicknamed the Big Four: Federer and Nadal on one side of the net; Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray on the other.
This team event founded by his management company marks the end of Federer’s career, and his last match will come Friday night alongside longtime rival Nadal for Team Europe against the Team World doubles pairing of Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock.
“I’m not sure if I can handle it all. But I’ll try,” the 41-year-old Federer said about his sure-to-be-emotional on-court farewell after 20 major championships, a total of 103 tournament titles and hundreds of weeks at No. 1 across nearly a quarter of a century as a professional tennis player.
“Sitting here,” Federer said Thursday at a team news conference, with Nadal, who is 36, to his left, and Djokovic and Murray, both 35, a couple of seats down to his right, “it feels good that I go first from the guys. It feels right.”
Federer is ending his playing days following a series of operations on his right knee. He hasn’t competed since a quarterfinal loss at Wimbledon to Hubert Hurkacz in July 2021.
When does Roger Federer play?
Roger Federer will play doubles with Rafael Nadal on Friday, Sept. 23 in the Laver Cup. The doubles match is set for 1 p.m. (2 p.m. ET). Play at the event starts at 7 a.m. (8 a.m. ET).
Live stream options
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream offers a free trial.
There are three options of DirecTV Stream for the tennis match:
The Choice Package has more than 90 channels and is $74.99 during the promotion. The channels in ENTERTAINMENT, plus MLB Network, NBA TV, college sports networks, and more. Enjoy Regional Sports Networks with no additional fees.
The Ultimate Package has more than 130 channels and is $89.99 during the promotion. Everything in CHOICE, plus Oxygen, Golf Channel, NHL Network, Universal Kids and more.
The Premier Package has more than 140 channels and is $134.99 during the promotion. Everything in ULTIMATE, plus HBO Max, SHOWTIME, STARZ, Cinemax and more.
DirecTV Stream offers a free trial that doesn’t require much effort.
To sign up, enter a phone number, email address and credit card, and you’ll receive five days of the service without charge.
In addition, enhance your experience with the DirecTV Stream device. While it doesn’t include a free trial, it give you access to thousands of apps like Netflix and more on Google Play. You can search using the voice remote with Google Assistant, and you can enjoy a traditional live TV channel guide. It is sold separately.
FuboTV
The game will be live streamed on fuboTV, which offers a free trial. The most basic of plans is the “fubo standard” package, which comprises 121-plus channels for $69.99 per month. Like all cord-cutting alternatives, there are plenty of options, especially for sports. It comes with more than 1,000 hours of cloud-based DVR, and up to 10 screens at once.
Will it be televised?
Roger Federer’s final match will be televised on The Tennis Channel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.