The final of the United Cup was nothing if not emotional. People had their camps and were passionately behind one side or the other. In the end Poland came through with a tightly fought battle to the finish and a championship victory over Switzerland at the mixed teams event in Sydney Sunday night.
Poland’s star Hubert Hurkacz capped an emotional injury comeback and erased two years of United Cup final heartbreak having come close to winning twice before.
“I’m kind of speechless. It’s really incredible,” Hurkcaz said. “Obviously personally, but also a massive day for Poland, for Polish tennis. We showed how strong we are as a Polish country in tennis. To win that trophy, it tastes incredible. After we came very close two times.”
On the same night Poland’s Iga Swiatek’s lost to Belinda Bencic 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, meaning that is was down to the doubles teams to finish it off and take the trophy home.
Jan Zielinski was again large and in charge as he partnered Katarzyna Kawa to their fifth mixed doubles win, 6-4, 6-3, over the previously undefeated Jakub Paul and Bencic, who was trying to finish the tournament with a perfect 10-0 record in match play.
Belinda Bencic had a great night even if the Swiss team didn’t make it. She finishes with a with a 5-0 singles record and was named United Cup Finals Most Valuable Player.
“This moment is so bittersweet,” Bencic said at the end. “We can be so proud of ourselves and we really deserve to celebrate this. It was truly one of the best weeks of my life.”
“To be honest, I felt I was in the match from the very first point,” Bencic said. “I thought I was going great and I was 0-3 down. I was ‘OK, what do I have to do.’ I think I just tried to keep the level and just wait for some chances.”
If anyone captured the heart of the tournament it was the 40-year-old Swiss captain Stan Wawrinka, who seems to be turning his retirement tour into massive fan base expansion exercise. A United Cup title would have been the icing on the cake, but now with his wild card for the Australian Open sorted, he’s going to be attracting plenty more play and eyeballs down in Melbourne.
He courageously played four three-set matches throughout the event, but ultimately walked away with just one victory in his five singles appearances. That’s if you don’t count the victories over the hearts and minds of everyone over the age of 35, and a ever- expanding array of post- retirement opportunities.
We chatted to living legend Dick Crealy through the final about how he sees the United Cup shaping up and what he thought of the game on the night. Crealy reached a singles world ranking of No. 21 in 1970, and made it to the final of the Australian Open in the same year, as well as winning four Grand Slam doubles titles including with Billie Jean King in the 1968 AO.
“I just think The United Cup is a marvellous concept,” said Crealy. “The men playing. The women playing. And then the mix. It’s wonderful and its unique!”
“The way the Poles have got through is great, and as for the Swiss! Belinda Bencic is a wonderful player. She’s hitting the balls at a million miles an hour. That’s what you’ve got to do! She looks terrific, and she’s coming in and taking the ball off the rise.”
“Australia getting knocked out was a shame but that’s the price. Its can happen at anytime. We lost a lot of Davis Cup matches, but we also won a lot.”
“My wife and I go will be in Melbourne for the first week,” said Crealy. “We love it. We just look at new players and who we can see on the outer courts. We love discovering new talent.”
We asked what Crealy thought about Wawrinka having such a good run at 40. “ Stan was such a great player. You can never discount Stan. He’s really the champ, you know? He’s a legend, but I think the terrible heat that we had might be hurting him somewhere. This surface is so hard on the body as well.”
“But that’s what makes it all so interesting. That’s the United Cup anything can happen. I think its really cemented now as the step before the Australian Open, and it’s a fantastic introduction to the season.”
Next we caught up with the President of Tennis New South Wales Melissa Achten about what she was enjoying about the final.
“It’s just great to watch a team that’s not expected to win, come through and fight for their country. And in front of an almost full house!”
“ Switzerland weren’t expected to make it out of Perth, so that’s fantastic. And Stan being a previous Australian Open champion is such a boost. We love it when he gets out to Australia, and its great he got the wild card for AO. Belinda had a bit of a slow first set, but she’s coming through in the second, even with most of the crowd going for Poland.”
“Becnic was able to take all of that on, and no doubt filter out the noise of the crowd. Having Stan there right till the end as Captain and Coach was wonderful to see, phenomenal even though he was playing next. I’m guessing he did a stretch or something, at least get warm, but he came back out to support her.”
“Team Poland has been here in Sydney all week, and the crowd’s been behind them all the way,”said Achten. “Probably the only match where it wasn’t like that was when they played Australia. The Polish community have definitely come out to watch.”
We asked Achten how she’s feeling about United Cup overall in this the fourth edition.
“After tonight, we’ve had over 100,000 people here this week to watch the United Cup. So it’s great.”
“I think from Sydney perspective, it couldn’t have gone better. It’s always helps when you have Australia in the drawer, from a crowd perspective, but the numbers have been consistent. I was here for Poland and Germany on Monday night and the crowd was unexpected, but phenomenal. The noise in the stadium on Monday was unbelievable!”
“And it’s been the same all week,” said Achten. “ People turning out to see all the teams. And it just also shows the kids what top level tennis is all an out and gives them something to strive for.”
“I get the feeling The United Cup is really starting to get known. In the past, people might ask what the United Cup is. But now it has real recognition in the community and its part of the Sydney sporting landscape. We all know that can be difficult to crack. But this event is bringing the best in the world to Sydney, and it’s working.”
Achten also mentioned that the seedings can really throw up surprises and its one of the fun elements to how the United Cup drawer takes place.
“The United Cup is interesting because the seedings are based on an average, but when we look at these two singles players in the Swiss team, neither of them were expected to make it through to the front, probably not even the quarterfinals. And now here they are. “
“It shows that at this event you have to be playing your best to win. You can’t just warm into it. That’s what Zverev found when he played Hurkacz in the first game. No one knew how he was going to come out because he’s been off injured, and he was just serving bombs all week. It just shows you’ve got to be on to win this event.”
For Brett Bevan, Vice President of Tennis New South Wales, a real highlight was watching the Swiss.
“The unbelievable combination of Stan and Belinda. Bencic had a baby just 18 months ago, and for Stan to be in the final at 40 is amazing. If former champions are fit and healthy and willing to play it’s good for everybody! Tennis players are lasting longer in their careers now. Venus is coming to the AO aged 45. Both her and Stan are rewriting the rules, but then they’re both next level.”
Already offering a very healthy prize money pool of AUD $17.5 million / USD $11.8 million, we’re likely to see an even bigger and better United Cup in 2027.
The ATP-WTA event is presented in partnership with Tennis Australia, offers a minimum and 500 PIF ATP and WTA rankings points.
The tournament is supported by host city partners, the WA Government through Tourism WA and the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency Destination NSW.
