The Canadians in attendance were Auger-Aliassime, rising WTA star Victoria Mboko, Alexis Galarneau and Kayla Cross. She enters the United Cup as World No. This is my first time playing such an event and playing the whole Australia swing, so there are a lot of new experiences and so many new things to come," Mboko said. It's a really fun event and to be here with Felix and the team, it's really great." Auger-Aliassime is flying higher than ever at No. He is serving as playing captain for Team Canada. "I have great memories playing in the past team events here in Australia," Auger-Aliassime said. "We actually won with our team [the ATP Cup] in Sydney a couple years back, so it would be nice to get a win again." 31 Zhu Lin, Zhang Zhizhen (second from right), Te Rigele (far right), Wang Aoran (far left) and captain Wu Di (second from left). Zhang has played the United Cup in each of the past two seasons, tallying a 1-2 singles mark each time. He is proud to represent his country on a global stage. Also that is why United Cup is a little bit different [from] other tournaments," Zhang said. Click here to find out who is competing in the mixed-teams event. Your data will be used in accordance with the ATP Privacy Policy and WTA Privacy Policy. Get official marketing communications from the ATP and WTA! We'll send you newsletters keeping you informed about news, tournaments, competitions, ticketing, partner offers and more. Your data will be used in accordance with the ATP Privacy Policy and WTA Privacy Policy. No part of this site may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way or by any means (including photocopying, recording or storing it in any medium by electronic means), without the written permission of ATP Tour, Inc.. Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Community Social Media Policy | Modern Slavery Statement | Feedback | Cookies | Your Privacy Choices

Iga Swiatek readies for her first shot at the career Slam in Australia, as Coco Gauff brings a retooled serve to a U.S. title defense.BySteve TignorPublished Dec 30, 2025 copy_link Since then, it has established itself as a table-setting tournament that balances camaraderie with competition and showcases both tours in one place.It's still a hopeful way to begin. While United Cup may not inspire the intensity of Davis Cup or BJK Cup, or radiate the star power of Laver Cup, it's the only place where we see the men and women teaming up and hanging out on the sidelines, and then playing together for their countries, and for ranking points. Czechia, Italy or Japan may have something to sayWhat United Cup gives us instead is an early look at the next tier of contenders, from energizing newcomers like Victoria Mboko, Jakub Mensik, and Flavio Cobolli, to established Top Tenners like Taylor Fritz, Jasmine Paolini, and Alex de Minaur. There are high-profile names, too, particularly on the women's side, including major champs Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, and Emma Raducanu.With the draw made, and play set to run from Jan. 2 to 11 in Perth and Sydney, here are team matches and individual players to watch for. Since then, it has established itself as a table-setting tournament that balances camaraderie with competition and showcases both tours in one place.It's still a hopeful way to begin. While United Cup may not inspire the intensity of Davis Cup or BJK Cup, or radiate the star power of Laver Cup, it's the only place where we see the men and women teaming up and hanging out on the sidelines, and then playing together for their countries, and for ranking points. Czechia, Italy or Japan may have something to sayWhat United Cup gives us instead is an early look at the next tier of contenders, from energizing newcomers like Victoria Mboko, Jakub Mensik, and Flavio Cobolli, to established Top Tenners like Taylor Fritz, Jasmine Paolini, and Alex de Minaur. There are high-profile names, too, particularly on the women's side, including major champs Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, and Emma Raducanu.With the draw made, and play set to run from Jan. 2 to 11 in Perth and Sydney, here are team matches and individual players to watch for. Since then, it has established itself as a table-setting tournament that balances camaraderie with competition and showcases both tours in one place.It's still a hopeful way to begin. Czechia, Italy or Japan may have something to sayWhat United Cup gives us instead is an early look at the next tier of contenders, from energizing newcomers like Victoria Mboko, Jakub Mensik, and Flavio Cobolli, to established Top Tenners like Taylor Fritz, Jasmine Paolini, and Alex de Minaur. There are high-profile names, too, particularly on the women's side, including major champs Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, and Emma Raducanu.With the draw made, and play set to run from Jan. 2 to 11 in Perth and Sydney, here are team matches and individual players to watch for. Czechia, Italy or Japan may have something to sayWhat United Cup gives us instead is an early look at the next tier of contenders, from energizing newcomers like Victoria Mboko, Jakub Mensik, and Flavio Cobolli, to established Top Tenners like Taylor Fritz, Jasmine Paolini, and Alex de Minaur. There are high-profile names, too, particularly on the women's side, including major champs Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, and Emma Raducanu.With the draw made, and play set to run from Jan. 2 to 11 in Perth and Sydney, here are team matches and individual players to watch for. Czechia, Italy or Japan may have something to sayWhat United Cup gives us instead is an early look at the next tier of contenders, from energizing newcomers like Victoria Mboko, Jakub Mensik, and Flavio Cobolli, to established Top Tenners like Taylor Fritz, Jasmine Paolini, and Alex de Minaur. There are high-profile names, too, particularly on the women's side, including major champs Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, and Emma Raducanu.With the draw made, and play set to run from Jan. 2 to 11 in Perth and Sydney, here are team matches and individual players to watch for. Czechia, Italy or Japan may have something to sayWhat United Cup gives us instead is an early look at the next tier of contenders, from energizing newcomers like Victoria Mboko, Jakub Mensik, and Flavio Cobolli, to established Top Tenners like Taylor Fritz, Jasmine Paolini, and Alex de Minaur. There are high-profile names, too, particularly on the women's side, including major champs Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, and Emma Raducanu.With the draw made, and play set to run from Jan. 2 to 11 in Perth and Sydney, here are team matches and individual players to watch for. What United Cup gives us instead is an early look at the next tier of contenders, from energizing newcomers like Victoria Mboko, Jakub Mensik, and Flavio Cobolli, to established Top Tenners like Taylor Fritz, Jasmine Paolini, and Alex de Minaur. There are high-profile names, too, particularly on the women's side, including major champs Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, and Emma Raducanu.With the draw made, and play set to run from Jan. 2 to 11 in Perth and Sydney, here are team matches and individual players to watch for. Like team events across all sports, United Cup begins with group play, before moving on to knockout rounds for the eight surviving nations. But their match against Spain should be a battle. Gauff, meanwhile, will play another hard-charging, gradually-improving player in 40th-ranked Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. This will be their first meeting.Group BCanada, Belgium, ChinaCanada comes into 2026 hot, with a team led by Felix Auger Aliassime, who leapt from No. 5 last year, and Mboko, who leapt to Cinderella stardom with her title run in Montreal.I'm looking forward to seeing them play Belgium, which will have two low-key warriors, Zizou Bergs and Elise Mertens, in the singles positions.Group CItaly, France, SwitzerlandItaly vs. Switzerland will feature a battle of the generations on the men's side, between Flavio Cobolli, 23, and Stan Wawrinka, 40. More interesting, perhaps, will be the women's contest, between No. But their match against Spain should be a battle. Gauff, meanwhile, will play another hard-charging, gradually-improving player in 40th-ranked Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. This will be their first meeting.Group BCanada, Belgium, ChinaCanada comes into 2026 hot, with a team led by Felix Auger Aliassime, who leapt from No. 5 last year, and Mboko, who leapt to Cinderella stardom with her title run in Montreal.I'm looking forward to seeing them play Belgium, which will have two low-key warriors, Zizou Bergs and Elise Mertens, in the singles positions.Group CItaly, France, SwitzerlandItaly vs. Switzerland will feature a battle of the generations on the men's side, between Flavio Cobolli, 23, and Stan Wawrinka, 40. More interesting, perhaps, will be the women's contest, between No. Canada comes into 2026 hot, with a team led by Felix Auger Aliassime, who leapt from No. 5 last year, and Mboko, who leapt to Cinderella stardom with her title run in Montreal.I'm looking forward to seeing them play Belgium, which will have two low-key warriors, Zizou Bergs and Elise Mertens, in the singles positions.Group CItaly, France, SwitzerlandItaly vs. Switzerland will feature a battle of the generations on the men's side, between Flavio Cobolli, 23, and Stan Wawrinka, 40. More interesting, perhaps, will be the women's contest, between No. I'm looking forward to seeing them play Belgium, which will have two low-key warriors, Zizou Bergs and Elise Mertens, in the singles positions.Group CItaly, France, SwitzerlandItaly vs. Switzerland will feature a battle of the generations on the men's side, between Flavio Cobolli, 23, and Stan Wawrinka, 40. More interesting, perhaps, will be the women's contest, between No. More interesting, perhaps, will be the women's contest, between No. Norway's Casper Ruud, Malene Helgo, Astrid Brune Olsen, and Ulrikke Eikeri in Sydney.© Corbis via Getty Images The men's matches in this group, between De Minaur, Mensik, and Casper Ruud, should be top-flight. With Swiatek on board, they'll be in contention again. Win or lose, it will be nice to welcome back her teammate, Hubert Hurkacz, who hasn't been seen since he wrecked his right knee at Wimbledon. With Swiatek on board, they'll be in contention again. Win or lose, it will be nice to welcome back her teammate, Hubert Hurkacz, who hasn't been seen since he wrecked his right knee at Wimbledon. With Swiatek on board, they'll be in contention again. Win or lose, it will be nice to welcome back her teammate, Hubert Hurkacz, who hasn't been seen since he wrecked his right knee at Wimbledon. Read More: Swiatek, Gauff, Osaka, Auger-Aliassime, Zverev among 2026 United Cup entrants Success in United Cup doesn't necessarily beget more of the same. Last year Gauff and Fritz went 11-1 combined and swept Poland in the final, only to suffer upset losses at the Australian Open.That said, while this is a team event, there are plenty of intriguing individual storylines that will get underway over the course of its nine days. Here are a few.Coco Gauff: How is her serve journey coming?In August, Gauff hired a serve specialist, Gavin MacMillan, to fix her wayward delivery. Now we'll see what the stroke looks like after an off-season of work.Taylor Fritz: At 28, is he still climbing, or has he peaked?Fritz's road to the elite has been long and hard-earned, but with Alcaraz and Sinner ensconced at the top, he doesn't seem any closer to a Slam title. We'll see this year if he has any more gears to shift into. That said, while this is a team event, there are plenty of intriguing individual storylines that will get underway over the course of its nine days. Here are a few.Coco Gauff: How is her serve journey coming?In August, Gauff hired a serve specialist, Gavin MacMillan, to fix her wayward delivery. Now we'll see what the stroke looks like after an off-season of work.Taylor Fritz: At 28, is he still climbing, or has he peaked?Fritz's road to the elite has been long and hard-earned, but with Alcaraz and Sinner ensconced at the top, he doesn't seem any closer to a Slam title. We'll see this year if he has any more gears to shift into. In August, Gauff hired a serve specialist, Gavin MacMillan, to fix her wayward delivery. Now we'll see what the stroke looks like after an off-season of work.Taylor Fritz: At 28, is he still climbing, or has he peaked?Fritz's road to the elite has been long and hard-earned, but with Alcaraz and Sinner ensconced at the top, he doesn't seem any closer to a Slam title. We'll see this year if he has any more gears to shift into. Fritz's road to the elite has been long and hard-earned, but with Alcaraz and Sinner ensconced at the top, he doesn't seem any closer to a Slam title. We'll see this year if he has any more gears to shift into. Now he'll try to avoid a sophomore slump, and keep climbing through the rarer air of the Top 15.Belinda Bencic: What does she do for an encore to her comeback season?Judging by her strong 2025 results, you would hardly have guessed that Bencic had just had her first child. Now, at 28, can she fulfill the Slam-winning potential she showed as a teen?Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari: What's left for the Greeks?Tsitsipas and Sakkari have both been ranked as high as No. 3, and are both now out of the Top 30. Can either put a halt to their parallel slide?Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu: New coaches will try to return them to past gloryThese two former major champs showed promise with new mentors—Osaka with Tomasz Witkorowski, Raducanu with Francisco Roig—in the latter half of 2025.📲🖥️ Bookmark for 2026: Stream the United Cup on the Tennis Channel App! Now, at 28, can she fulfill the Slam-winning potential she showed as a teen?Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari: What's left for the Greeks?Tsitsipas and Sakkari have both been ranked as high as No. 3, and are both now out of the Top 30. Can either put a halt to their parallel slide?Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu: New coaches will try to return them to past gloryThese two former major champs showed promise with new mentors—Osaka with Tomasz Witkorowski, Raducanu with Francisco Roig—in the latter half of 2025.📲🖥️ Bookmark for 2026: Stream the United Cup on the Tennis Channel App! 3, and are both now out of the Top 30. Can either put a halt to their parallel slide?Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu: New coaches will try to return them to past gloryThese two former major champs showed promise with new mentors—Osaka with Tomasz Witkorowski, Raducanu with Francisco Roig—in the latter half of 2025.📲🖥️ Bookmark for 2026: Stream the United Cup on the Tennis Channel App! These two former major champs showed promise with new mentors—Osaka with Tomasz Witkorowski, Raducanu with Francisco Roig—in the latter half of 2025.📲🖥️ Bookmark for 2026: Stream the United Cup on the Tennis Channel App!