The countdown for the fourth edition of the international mixed team event, the United Cup, is almost over. On Friday, tennis action will resume in the city of Perth, Australia, in the build-up to the first major of the 2026 season.
Running from January 2 through 11, 2026, the competition reunites a high-caliber 18-nation field in a mixed team format.
Each team line-up consists of six players and their captain; the 18 teams are split into nine groups between the host cities of Perth and Sydney.
On Friday, the countries from Groups A and E will open round-robin action at the RAC Arena.
Spain will take on Argentina in the day session, while Greece and Japan set off night action.
Team Japan is led by former world number one Naomi Osaka, making her debut at the event against Maria Sakkari.
Defending champions Team USA (Group A), Great Britain (Group E), Italy, Switzerland, and France (Group C) complete the field based in Perth.
Each session will feature three matches: one men’s singles match, one women’s singles match, and one mixed doubles match. Both singles matches will feature the No. 1-ranked single player within the team.
Then, on January 7, the first two quarterfinals will take place, with one quarterfinal spot in each city awarded to the best runner-up.
Meanwhile, Sydney will kick off proceedings on Saturday at the Ken Rosewall Arena.
The city capital is home to Belgium, Canada, China (Group B), Australia, Czechia, Norway (Group D), and former champions Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands, drawn in Group F.
On Saturday, nations drawn in Groups B and D will open group stage play.
Belgium meets China in the day session, while Australia and Norway square off in the night session.
The first matchup of the day will see world No. 5 Elise Mertens playing Zhu Lin.
The Belgian player leads their WTA series 3-1, having won their most recent encounter at Wimbledon in straight sets.
The opening contest will be followed by world No. 42 Zizou Bergs taking on Zhizhen Zhang, who in 2025 competed in just 10 tournaments, missing most of the year due to multiple injuries.
Highlighting night action, world No. 11 and home favorite Alex de Minaur and Norway’s No. 1 Casper Ruud have set a box office for the delight of the local fans.
Top 3 Title Contenders
Captain Michael Russell will lead a star-studded American team, bidding to retain the title with WTA world No. 3 Coco Gauff and ATP No. 6 Taylor Fritz at the forefront.
Mackenzie McDonald, Christian Harrison, Varvara Lepchenko, and Nicole Melichar Martinez, making their first appearance, will join them.
In his return from injury, Hubert Hurkacz will join six-time major champion Iga Swiatek, Daniel Michalski, Jan Zielinski, Katarzyna Kawa, and Katarzyna Piter, representing the 2024-2025 runner-up, Poland.
Guided by Alexander Zverev Sr., the former 2024 winners, Team Germany, arrived on Australian soil with a strong field in their quest to return to greatness.
World No. 3 Alexander Zverev heads the team, which also features the experienced Laura Siegemund, world No. 40 Eva Lys, Patrick Zahraj, Kevin Krawietz, and Mina Hodzic.
“I’m excited to come back to the United Cup,” outlined Zverev. “It’s always special to start the year there. We won in 2024, which was a very special moment with the team.”
Furthermore, from January 8 through 9, the last two quarterfinals will take place at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Center.
Sydney will also host the semifinals, followed by the United Cup Final on Sunday, 11, 2026.