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US Open runner-up Ben Shelton withdraws from Laver Cup 2026 as Brandon Nakashima joins Team World
Team World are the defending champions after winning in San Francisco last year. The event returns to London four years after The O2 last hosted it in 2022.
US Open runner-up Ben Shelton has pulled out of next week’s Laver Cup, and world No. 16 Brandon Nakashima will take his place on Team World. Organisers confirmed the change on Thursday, eight days after Shelton lost the Flushing Meadows final to Alexander Zverev.
Notably, Shelton is due to play Davis Cup for the United States in the Czech Republic from Friday, less than a week after his first Grand Slam final. The 23-year-old is now at a career-high No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings.
Brandon Nakashima, 25, will make his debut at The O2 in London from 25-27 September. He joins Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz, Alexander Bublik, Learner Tien and Francisco Cerundolo under captain Andre Agassi and vice-captain Patrick Rafter.
“I’m really excited to be making my Laver Cup debut in London,” Nakashima said. “It’s an event I’ve always dreamed of playing, and I can't wait to be part of Team World, competing alongside the guys and playing for Andre and Pat. Looking forward to getting to The O2 and doing everything I can to help the team.”
The Californian arrives in strong form. He went 13-4 on the North American hard-court swing, reached his first ATP Masters 1000 final in Montreal and made the Cincinnati semi-finals. That run lifted him to a career-high No. 16.
He is the third Laver Cup rookie on Agassi’s side, along with Bublik and Tien. Cerundolo had already been added after Tommy Paul withdrew with an elbow injury from the US Open.
Team World are the defending champions after winning in San Francisco last year. The event returns to London four years after The O2 last hosted it in 2022.
Yannick Noah’s Team Europe features Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Flavio Cobolli, Rafael Jodar, Jakub Mensik and Casper Ruud, with Tim Henman as vice-captain. The three-day format, modelled on the Ryder Cup, awards one point on Friday, two on Saturday and three on Sunday until one side reaches 13.
Ben Shelton’s absence removes a left-handed serve that had been central to Agassi’s plans. Nakashima offers a different look: a clean two-handed backhand, a reliable first serve and a hard-court game that travelled well through August. For Team World, the brief is simple. Keep the trophy in London and give Agassi a second straight win as captain.
The O2 crowd will see the new lineup for the first time at Friday’s opening session.
Aachal Maniyar is a Senior Content Producer at LiveMint, where she covers US sports with a focus on major leagues, marquee events, and athlete-driven stories, while also reporting extensively on cricket and global sports. With over five years of first-hand journalism experience, she combines sharp editorial judgment with real-time sports storytelling across platforms. <br><br> Her reporting journey spans leading newsrooms including Thomson Reuters, India TV, BTVI, ET NOW, and CNBC TV18, where she has worked across breaking news, live match coverage, feature writing, interviews, video scripting, and anchoring. This multi-platform exposure has shaped her ability to deliver context-rich sports and business journalism tailored for both television and digital audiences. <br><br> Aachal has conducted and produced exclusive interviews with athletes and public figures such as India cricketer Dhruv Jurel, Indian women’s hockey captain Savita Punia, and industrialist Ratan Tata, along with several emerging and established sports personalities. Her body of work includes in-depth explainers, athlete profiles, emotionally resonant fan narratives, and data-backed match analysis across cricket, Olympic sports, and international competitions. <br><br> She holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune, and believes in reporting that is grounded in accuracy, clarity, and credibility. Her philosophy is simple: sports journalism should go beyond scores and statistics, capturing the human stories, pressure moments, and decisions that shape the game and the people who play it.
