The release of the United Cup entry list had already generated plenty of excitement, but last week’s draw ceremony in Sydney took that anticipation to a new level.
The 18 teams were placed into six groups across Perth and Sydney, cementing unmissable singles match-ups in both cities that promise to kick the 2026 season off with a bang.
Let’s start in Sydney, where the first day of action on Saturday 3 January offers up a heavyweight clash at Ken Rosewall Arena.
Sydney
Alex de Minaur v Casper Ruud
Saturday 3 January – not before 7pm
De Minaur returns to Ken Rosewall Arena – his home court at which he boasts an incredible winning record – to take on Ruud, a clash between Australia’s current world No.7 versus Norway’s former world No.2.
Despite both being consistent forces at the top of men’s tennis, they have rarely played. Their most recent meeting came almost two years ago, when De Minaur beat Ruud in the 2024 Acapulco final. The time before that? When both were youngsters at the 2019 NextGen ATP Finals.
Both known for elevating their games when representing their countries, expect a high-octane battle as Ruud uses his huge forehand to try and overcome De Minaur’s elite defence.
Alexander Zverev v Hubert Hurkacz
Monday 5 January, 5.30pm
Zverev and Hurkacz will lock horns again after meeting on the same stage in the United Cup 2024 final.
At Ken Rosewall Arena two years ago, Zverev stared down a match point before recovering to beat Hurkacz in three. That pushed the final to a deciding mixed doubles rubber, which Germany won to claim the 2024 title.
Comeback COMPLETE 🥶
— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 7, 2024
🇩🇪 @AlexZverev saves two match points before battling past Hurkacz 6-7(3), 7-6(6), 6-4 and forcing a mixed doubles decider with Poland!#UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/fDxqDEoxTH
Hurkacz avenged that defeat in the 2024 Halle semifinals, his first win over the German in three attempts and the last time they met.
Iga Swiatek v Eva Lys
Monday 5 January – not before 7pm
After Zverev-Hurkacz comes Swiatek versus Lys, a rematch of the pair’s fourth-round battle at Australian Open 2025.
There, under lights at Rod Laver Arena, Swiatek overwhelmed the lucky loser for the loss of just one game. Yet so much has changed for Lys, who has since vaulted inside the top 40 and emerged as one of the game’s most popular rising stars.
Swiatek is close to unbeatable when representing Poland, boasting a 12-2 record across her three United Cup campaigns.
This will be an opportunity to see how far 23-year-old Lys has come.
Maya Joint v Barbora Krejcikova
Tuesday 6 January, 5.30pm
Australian rising star Joint takes on two-time major champion Krejcikova in an exciting intergenerational battle.
Joint has been a teen on a tear in 2025, rising from outside the top 100 to a career-best ranking of world No.32. Her rapid-fire, aggressive playing style will contrast nicely with the Czech’s all-court finesse, which saw Krejcikova triumph on the clay of Roland Garros in 2021 before she conquered Wimbledon’s lawns in 2024.
Soon to turn 30, former world No.2 Krejcikova’s big-stage experience could be valuable against Joint, a player more than a decade younger and making her United Cup debut.
Perth
Naomi Osaka v Emma Raducanu
Sunday 4 January, Day Session
It’s a battle between US Open champions when 2018 and 2020 victor Osaka takes on 2021 title winner Raducanu.
That was the high point of Raducanu’s career, whereas four-time major champion Osaka also won a pair of Australian Open titles. Yet both were resurgent forces in 2025; Osaka soared back to world No.14 after reaching the Montreal final and US Open semifinals, while Raducanu returned to the top 30, her highest ranking in more than three years.
Perth fans will be treated to a battle between two of the biggest stars of women’s tennis, in what is also a first United Cup campaign for both.
Jasmine Paolini v Belinda Bencic
Sunday 4 January, Night Session
Pocket rocket Paolini, who finished a second straight season inside the top 10, will take on Bencic, who very nearly joined her inside this elite bracket after a brilliant 2025.
Bencic began the year ranked 487th and ended it at world No.11 after winning two WTA titles and reaching the Wimbledon semifinals, her best Slam result in six years. She’d only just returned to the spot in October 2024 after welcoming daughter Bella into the world.
With momentum, experience and strategic savviness, Bencic represents a tough opponent for anyone, yet Paolini is in her element when representing Italy, as an Olympic gold medallist in 2024 who also led her nation to a second straight Billie Jean King Cup title in September 2025.
Flavio Cobolli v Stan Wawrinka
Sunday 4 January, Night Session
A three-time Grand Slam champion, now 40 years old, Wawrinka remains a dangerous threat with his exceptional one-handed backhand and top tennis level, which saw him push top-10 stars Daniil Medvedev and Lorenzo Musetti to three sets at indoor tournaments in 2025.
He’ll need his game to be firing when he takes on rising star Cobolli, a star of the Italian Davis Cup team which won its third consecutive trophy on the weekend.
Cobolli, 17 years younger than the Swiss legend, plays with explosive power belying his size and loves the big stage. He hit a career-best ranking of world No.17 in July, not long after reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
Jack Draper v Stefanos Tsitsipas
Monday 5 January, Night Session
United Cup 2026 marks the return of Draper, a leading player in 2025 before an arm injury forced him to end his season after the US Open.
Prior to that Draper had won his first ATP Masters title at Indian Wells, also reached the Madrid Masters final, and hit a high of world No.4 after beginning the year ranked 18th.
It’s a peak ranking not far off the career-high of No.3 Tsitsipas attained in 2021, in the midst of his five-year run as a permanent top-10 fixture. Tsitsipas has since slipped to 34th, but there’s no doubting his enduring quality and star power as he prepares to represent Team Greece at a fourth consecutive United Cup.
With both players looking to get back on track, Draper versus Tsitsipas shapes as one of the more significant clashes in Perth.
