Tennis action resumed on Friday, launching the 2025 season at the United Cup. The third edition of the international mixed team event, comprising an 18-country line-up, saw countries from Groups C and E hit the RAC Arena to open their campaigns in Perth, Australia.
Perth is home to Group A (Top seeds USA, Canada, Croatia), Group C (Greece, Kazakhstan, Spain), and Group E (China, Germany, Brazil).
Meanwhile, Sydney, also a host city, will welcome nations from Group D and F on Saturday, setting off proceedings at Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Center.
The city hosts Group B (Poland, Czechia, Norway), Group D (Italy, France, Switzerland), and Group F (Great Britain, Australia, Argentina).
The format consists of six groups of three teams playing a best of three matches, competing in a round-robin format.
Each tie featured one men’s singles, one women’s singles, and one mixed doubles match.
Perth - Day 1
Group C: Team Kazakhstan won the opening tie at the United Cup 2-1 over Team Spain in the day session.
In the men’s singles match, Pablo Carreno Busta opened play for Spain, handing his country a 1-0 lead by defeating world No. 78 Alexander Shevchenko 6-2, 6-1 in 64 minutes.
Courtside, the 33-year-old commented: “I didn’t expect this level. It is very important to be focused. I was very nervous, but that’s normal. After that, I tried to be solid and a little more aggressive than (I was) in the beginning.”
Then, world No. 6 Elena Rybakina took the court to face Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro for the first time.
The Kazakh found her foot first to take a 4-0 advantage over her opponent, who narrowed the gap 2-4, recovering behind her serve.
However, the former Wimbledon champion regrouped to close out 6-2.
The world No. 54 fought back, fending off four break points at 4-2 in the second set and then saving three break points at 5-3. But her efforts were short-lived against Rybakina’s powerful game and outstanding consistency throughout the contest.
Ultimately, the 25-year-old debuted at the United Cup with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over her adversary to set level 1-1. Her new coach, Goran Ivanisevic, followed the action from the stands.
In her on-court interview, she revealed: “First matches are always difficult. It’s not easy to get used to [it] that quick, but I am really happy with the way I played today.”
Rybakina and Shevchenko teamed up for the mixed doubles to seal the day session.
The pair battled hard to topple Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers / Carreno Busta duo 7-6(4), 6-7(2), 10-7 after two hours.
Next, Kazakhstan will play Greece on Monday in Perth.
Group E: Team China recorded a perfect score (3-0) against Brazil, becoming the first nation to achieve the feat this new season at the venue.
World No. 175 Gao Xinyu stunned Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 after a three-hour, 22-minute physical matchup, which brought both players to the edge.
“My brain was empty, and my whole body was cramping,” Gao said after notching her biggest career victory, the first over a Top 20-ranked player.
In the second rubber of their group, Zhang Zhizhen dispatched Thiago Monteiro with a 6-3, 6-0 win in under one hour, extending China’s lead to 2-0, showcasing a ruthless performance on serve.
Zhang joined Zhang Shuai to play doubles against Brazilian duo Carolina Alves and Rafael Matos.
The Brazilians lost 6-4, 7-5, unable to halt their opponents from rounding up the tie 3-0.
The Chinese team reached the quarterfinals last season in their maiden appearance at the venue. Now, they bid to go further in the competition, and having reigning champions Team Germany in their group makes the task at hand difficult but not impossible.
The winners from each group will advance to the quarterfinals, with one last-eight spot also awarded to the best runner-up team in Perth and Sydney.
The semifinals and the championship match will take place in Sydney.