United Cup: Stars Arrive in Australia for Mixed-Gender Tennis Event
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Perth, Dec 25 (NationPress) Kazakhstan will face Spain in Group C, and China will go up against Brazil in Group E on the first day of the United Cup, a mixed-gender tennis tournament taking place simultaneously in Perth and Sydney starting this Friday.
The prestigious season-opening team competition features 18 teams divided into six groups of three, with three groups competing in Perth and the other three in Sydney. This year’s event will showcase seven of the world’s Top 10 women and six of the world’s Top 12 men, all representing their countries in the 2025 United Cup, which will culminate on January 5.
Greece joins Group C while Germany rounds out the Group E roster.
Group A includes the United States, Canada, and Croatia; Group B features Poland, Czechia, and Norway. Group D consists of Italy, France, and Switzerland and will play their matches in Sydney, while Great Britain, Australia, and Argentina make up Group F in this prestigious tournament, setting the stage for the Australian Open buildup for both men’s and women’s players.
In the tournament opener, Alexander Shevchenko will kick off the campaign for Kazakhstan against Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain in the men’s singles, followed by World No. 6 Elena Rybakina facing Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the women’s singles. If the match results in a 1-1 tie, the two sets of players will compete in mixed doubles. Notably, Spain will be without World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, the 2024 winner of two Grand Slam titles.
In the second match on Friday, World No. 5 in the WTA Rankings, Qinwen Zheng, will commence China's campaign against World No. 13 Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil, while Zhizhen Zhang competes against Thiago Monteiro in the men’s singles.
The top six groups and one second-placed team from both Perth and Sydney will advance to the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, American Top 5 stars Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz have quickly gotten to work at the United Cup.
Just hours after arriving at Perth Airport, the top seeds practiced together at RAC Arena, enjoying much cooler temperatures compared to the scorching 42-degree heat earlier in the week. Both athletes are eager to carry their strong late-year performances into the new season, with Gauff having won the WTA Finals in Riyadh and Fritz finishing as runner-up at the ATP Finals in Turin, closing the year at a career-high World No. 4.
Fritz was part of the United States championship team in the inaugural United Cup of 2023, which utilized a different format featuring two men’s singles, two women’s singles, and a mixed doubles. The format has since shifted to one men’s singles, one women’s singles, and a mixed doubles.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Fritz shared regarding the tournament. “[The format] has evolved over the years; during our championship, we could leverage our team's depth more effectively. Now, the favorite team faces greater risks with just one singles match each and a deciding mixed doubles. I’m still eager to compete, and it’s great to have Coco here this year.”
Gauff, starting the year as World No. 3, added: “We both come off strong year-end performances. This will be our second time playing together, and we hope to surpass our Olympic results.” The United States will wait until Day 3 on Sunday for their opening match, a highly anticipated showdown against Canada, featuring Fritz against Felix Auger-Aliassime and Gauff against former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez. The U.S. will face Croatia in their second group match on Day 5, December 31.
