The United Cup in Perth hosted a whole other 9 international teams alongside those playing in Sydney.
Split into three groups the tennis stars are not only holding their countries entire national pride in their hands, and competing for a minimum AUD $17.5 million / USD $11.8 million in prize money plus 500 PIF ATP and WTA rankings points, they’re also getting their form up for the biggest competition of the all down under: The Australian Open.
Team USA has the stars and gets its stripes
On paper, defending champions Team United States arrived well-armed, led by world No. 3 Coco Gauff and world No. 9 Taylor Fritz — though, like the Sydney to Hobart, their passage through Group A was not entirely smooth against Spain and Argentina.
Gauff suffered a shock three-set loss to Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in Perth, a match preceded by a social media post clarifying earlier comments about fan support. Gauff noted that players from smaller nations often receive more animated backing at team events and hoped to see more Americans in the crowd should the team make it to Sydney. If Gauff had her way, America’s collective New Year’s resolution would be to clap louder for US players.
Fritz, meanwhile, saved a match point against Jaume Munar, overcoming a bloodied toe treated during a seven-minute medical timeout to win 7-6(4), 3-6, 7-6(6) in three hours and 14 minutes.
Spanish Fiesta to Siesta
Spain’s United Cup campaign unfolded like a week that never slowed down. They opened against Argentina and were immediately under pressure, with Sebastián Báez (World No. 45) defeating Jaume Munar 6-4, 6-4. Solana Sierra (No. 66) then outlasted Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (No. 41) 6-4, 5-7, 6-0 before Argentina completed a 3-0 sweep in the mixed doubles.
Against the United States, Spain found some momentum, led by Bouzas Maneiro’s stunning 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-0 upset of World No. 4 Coco Gauff and her first career Top 5 win. “I know Coco and she’s a fighter,” said Bouzas Maneiro after the game. “She’s there all the time in the match, so I knew that I had to be there, and even if I’m 4-1 up, I have to be there. And yeah, she won the second set and I went to the bathroom and I was trying to focus just to take it point by point. That was my mentality in the third set.” Her mindset paid off, as she dominated the decider to seal the biggest win of her career.
Such a stunning victory couldn’t carry them through however. Munar came within a point of defeating the defending champions, before World No. 9 Taylor Fritz escaped 7-6(4), 3-6, 7-6(6) in a three-hour epic, underpinned by 16 aces from the American. The United States sealed the tie 2-1 in mixed doubles, joining Argentina in the quarter-finals.
We’ll see the Spaniards again in Melbourne, where they’ll have time now to recoup and regroup before starting all over again.
Not so Forza Italia
World Number 6, Jasmine Paolini of Italy went down to Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 6-4, 6-3 before Bencic helped decide the tie in mixed doubles, where she and Jakub Paul overcame Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori in a tight doubles, 7-5, 4-6, 10-7.
Subsequently, Italy’s United Cup campaign came to an end at the hands of France where Flavio Cobolli was defeated by France’s Arthur Rinderknech 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 7-5 in three-hours, 21-minutes. Cobolli, who is gluten- and dairy-free, saved his energy carefully but could not stop Rinderknech from saving two match points and turning the match, and Italy’s quarter-final hopes, upside down.
There was, however, dignity in the aftermath as Jasmine Paolini returned to the court knowing Italy was already out and promptly defeated France’s Leolia Jeanjean 6-2, 6-3.
With their United Cup campaign complete, the Italians have more time to head south ahead of the Australian Open, and start working out if you really can get as good a cup of coffee down in Melbourne as you can back in the Old Country. We only worry all the hipsters might leave a bitter taste in their mouths.
France Falls
France and Italy, long-time rivals in both tennis and gastronomy, once again found themselves competing for the win, this time with racquets rather than recipes. Italy ultimately won the tie 2–1, thanks to victories from Jasmine Paolini and the mixed doubles pairing of Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, even as Arthur Rinderknech’s marathon win over Flavio Cobolli was a standout victory.
France’s United Cup ambitions were ended by Switzerland in Perth, where Belinda Bencic set the tone with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Leolia Jeanjean before Stan Wawrinka backed it up by narrowly defeating Arthur Rinderknech 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-6(5). Bencic later returned alongside Jakub Paul to seal the tie in mixed doubles, praising the team’s “energy” and togetherness.
Like Italy, France is now headed to Melbourne, a city well equipped to host unresolved sporting rivalries thanks to its belief that good coffee, good food and good tennis can fix anything.
Yassou Greece
Greece secured its place in the United Cup quarter-finals, defeating Great Britain 2–1 and sweeping aside Japan 3–0 in Group E.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is currently World No. 36 spot and is planning on making a comeback in 2026, having previously regularly found himself in the top 10. Tsitsipas opened the tie with a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) win over Billy Harris, declaring he was determined to “stop losing matches like that,” in what looked very much like his New Year’s resolution for 2026.
Maria Sakkari followed with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Emma Raducanu, claiming her first win against the Briton and ticking off a long-overdue sense of “closure” before the end of the first week of January. Earlier in the week, Sakkari had also eased past four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, sending a clear message that her season had begun with intent.
Team GB Get Busted
Even having living legend Tim Henman in the coach’s corner wasn’t enough to get Team Great Britain through to the quarter finals. When asked about the teams performance after GB met Japan, Henman told the crowds at Ken Rosewell Arena, “The spirit has been so good since we arrived in Perth,” he said. “Their work ethic and the camaraderie has been absolutely outstanding. My request was for them to go out there and enjoy the challenge and compete for every point.”
Emma Raducanu’s sudden withdrawal didn’t stop Great Britain from beating Japan 2-1 in the first meeting from their group.
However when they came to face the Greeks, Emma Raducanu was back in play but Maria Sakkari won a three-set victory against the Brit 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, her first career victory against the Raducanu on the WTA Tour.
Billy Harris is nothing if not committed. He previously spent three and a half years traveling around Europe, trying to secure enough points to climb the PIF ATP Rankings, sleeping in his van on a bed in the back that came with a stringing machine to restring his racquets. Now sitting at World No.127, it wasn’t too much of a struggle to knock over Shintaro Mochizuki of Japan in straight-sets (7-6, 6-3) but in the next round against the Greeks he fought hard but didn’t manage to topple Stefanos Tsistipas who took down the Brit 6-4, 1-6, 6-7
Team GB’s Olivia Nicholls and Neal Skupski did beat their counterparts Despina Papamichail and Stefanos Sakellaridis 6-2, 3-6, 10-4 in the final match mixed doubles game, so there was a little bit of great left in Great Britain.
Swiss Service
All eyes were on Stan Wawrinka after the 40-year-old announced in December that 2026 would be his final season on tour, with his swansong beginning at the United Cup. Switzerland’s opening tie against France set the tone. After Belinda Bencic delivered a straight forward win over Leolia Jeanjean, the three-time Grand Slam champion followed with a marathon victory over Arthur Rinderknech, edging him out 5–7, 7–6(5), 7–6(5) in three hours and 16 minutes to seal a 3–0 result.
Attention then turned to Switzerland’s decisive clash with Italy, where Bencic eked out World Number 3, Jasmine Paolini before returning later in the day to decide the tie in mixed doubles. Wawrinka stretched World Number 22, Flavio Cobolli to three sets — splitting the opening two in tie-breaks before falling 6–3 in the decider. It mattered little as Bencic partnered Jakub Paul to defeat three-time major champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori 7–5, 4–6, 10–7, sending Switzerland into the quarter-finals while powerhouse tennis nations Italy and France were left to reschedule their flights to Melbourne for AO practice.
Ahead of the tournament, Bencic had already floated Wawrinka’s next role at a team press conference, declaring, “He’s the captain next year, for sure.” Wawrinka didn’t rule out a return to the captain’s bench, proving that January isn’t just a time for consolidating your fitness goals, but also for quietly considering a new job.
Japan Sayōnara
It was the first time at the United Cup for both Japan and Osaka, who ahead of the tournament told the press, “I’ve always watched United Cup on the TV and I’ve wanted to play for a long time. It’s such a good team atmosphere, which I really enjoy.” GBs Emma Raducanu’s withdrawal from the WTA singles match against Osaka meant what was supposed to be a second career meeting between the two didn’t happen, and instead Osaka took down Team GB’s replacement Katie Swan 7-6, 6-1 in one hour and 53 minutes. This was redemptive given that Osaka lost out to Greece’s Maria Sakkari in straight sets in the first round.
Shintaro Mochizuki wasn’t having his best start to the year and he seemed to being falling short in the beginner’s luck department. The 22-year-old World No. 99 didn’t get a lot of wins, but he was up against some very solid opponents in a strong group. All the more reason for him to analyse his debut performance and come back stronger next year!
Argentina ¡Vamos
Not all progress was loud. Some were worked out with spreadsheets. Argentina qualified for the quarter-finals as the best-placed runner-up in Perth, finishing Group A with a 1–1 tie record and a crucial 4–2 match record. This meant no other runner-up could catch them, which is a thrilling way to win through if you like to let the numbers, not the racquet, do the talking.
As Argentina had already faced the United States in group play, the draw reshuffled itself. The US will now face Greece, while Switzerland will play Argentina.
The quarterfinals in Sydney will be held across Thursday 8 and Friday 9 January and have already taken place in Perth 7th January
Sydney will host two semifinals on Saturday 10 January followed by the final of the United Cup from 5.30pm on Sunday 11 January
LIST OF QUALIFIED COUNTRIES AND PLAYER ENTRY LIST
ATP 6 113 15* | USA Taylor Fritz Mackenzie McDonald Christian Harrison
| WTA 3 154 18* | Coco Gauff Varvara Lepchenko Nicole Melichar-Martinez |
8 189 85* | CANADA Felix Auger-Aliassime Alexis Galarneau Cleeve Harper
| 18 241 10* | Victoria Mboko Kayla Cross Gabriela Dabrowski |
22 140 14* | ITALY Flavio Cobolli Andrea Pellegrino Andrea Vavassori
| 8 152 3*
|
Jasmine Paolini Nuria Brancaccio Sara Errani
|
7 190 45* | AUSTRALIA Alex de Minaur Jason Kubler John-Patrick Smith
| 32 175 P3* | Maya Joint Maddison Inglis Storm Hunter |
10 124 1*
| GREAT BRITAIN Jack Draper Billy Harris Lloyd Glasspool | 29 257 26* | Emma Raducanu Mingge Xu Olivia Nicholls |
3 246 11*
| GERMANY Alexander Zverev Patrick Zahraj Kevin Krawietz
| 40 46 465
| Eva Lys Laura Siegemund Mina Hodzic
|
43 205 49* | BELGIUM Zizou Bergs Kimmer Coppejans Sander Gille
| 20 122 P110* |
Elise Mertens Greet Minnen Lara Salden |
29 254 17* | FRANCE Arthur Rinderknech Geoffrey Blancaneaux Edouard Roger-Vasselin
| 36 106 123
| Lois Boisson Leolia Jeanjean Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah
|
P47 257 34* | POLAND Hubert Hurkacz Daniel Michalski Jan Zielinski
| 2 124 59* |
Iga Swiatek Katarzyna Kawa Katarzyna Piter |
36 104 103* | SPAIN Jaume Munar Carlos Taberner Inigo Cervantes
| 42 182 107*
| Jessica Bouzas Maneiro Andrea Lazaro Garcia Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers |
19 86 53* | CZECHIA Jakub Mensik Dalibor Svrcina Adam Pavlasek
| P10 137 66* | Barbora Krejcikova Linda Fruhvirtova Miriam Skoch |
34 276 219* | GREECE Stefanos Tsitsipas Stefanos Sakellaridis Petros Tsitsipas | 52 172 143* |
Maria Sakkari Despina Papamichail Sapfo Sakellaridi
|
92 306
| JAPAN Shintaro Mochizuki Yasutaka Uchiyama | 16 186 | Naomi Osaka Nao Hibino |
45 136 33*
| ARGENTINA Sebastian Baez Marco Trungelliti Guido Andreozzi | 66 128 110* |
Solana Sierra Maria Lourdes Carle Nicole Fossa Huergo |
25 161 29*
| NETHERLANDS Tallon Griekspoor Guy Den Ouden David Pel | 87 235 21* | Suzan Lamens Eva Vedder Demi Schuurs |
157 328 402 | SWITZERLAND Stan Wawrinka Jakub Paul Luca Castelnuovo
| 11 266 155*
| Belinda Bencic Celine Naef Naima Karamoko
|
12 243 | NORWAY Casper Ruud Viktor Durasovic
| 478 804 38* | Malene Helgo Astrid Brune Olsen Ulrikke Eikeri
|
P60 663 247*
| CHINA Zhizhen Zhang Rigele Te Aoran Wang | P50 285 | Zhu Lin Xiaodi You |
P= Protected ranking, J= Junior ranking, *= Doubles ranking
