The 2023 tennis season kicks off 29 December with the inaugural edition of the United Cup in Australia.
As the players prepare to ring in the new year and kick off their seasons, here's what you need to know about the team competition, which brings together the best on both the Hologic WTA Tour and ATP Tour.
See Pathway To United Cup Champions (PDF)
When is the tournament?
The United Cup is an 18-team, mixed-team competition. The 11-day tournament begins on Dec. 29 and will be played across three cities, Sydney (Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre), Brisbane (Queensland Tennis Centre) and Perth (RAC Arena).
Teams in Sydney and Brisbane will play on outdoor hard courts. Perth will feature an indoor hard court. All three venues will use the Dunlop Australian Open balls.
What is the format?
The group stage will be played from Dec. 29 to Jan. 3. Each city will host two groups of three countries, competing in a round-robin format. Played over two days, ties will consist of two ATP and two WTA singles matches between the No.1-ranked players and No.2-ranked players and one mixed doubles match. If the tie is locked at 2-2 after singles, the mixed doubles match will decide the winner.
The winner of each of the two groups will advance to the City Final on Wednesday, Jan. 4 to determine which team will advance to the United Cup Final Four. The fourth team will be the City Final runner-up with the best record from its three matches.
The Final Four will have a travel day on Thursday, Jan. 5. The semifinals will be played across two days on Friday, Jan. 6 and Saturday, Jan. 7 in Sydney.
When is the final?
The United Cup final will be played on Sunday, Jan. 8 beginning at 1:00 p.m. in Sydney.
How have the groups been drawn?
Six countries qualified based on the ATP ranking of their No.1 player, six countries qualified based on the WTA ranking of their No.1 singles player and six countries qualified based on the best combined ranking of their No.1 ATP and WTA players. Australia received entry as the host nation.
The top six seeds are No.1 Greece, No.2 Poland, No.3 United States, No.4 Spain, No.5 Italy and No.6 France.
Who is playing and where?
The United Cup features a star-studded field that includes WTA World No.1 Iga Swiatek, reigning Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal, and WTA Finals champion Caroline Garcia. The all-star duo of Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas lead the top-seeded Greek squad, while World No.3 Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys and Taylor Fritz head up a strong United States team.
View the host cities and tournament groups
What is the prize money and rankings points on offer?
The total prize money pool for the United Cup is $15 million, split equally between the ATP and WTA. Individual prize money is based on ranking, match wins, and team wins. No points will be awarded for mixed doubles.
A player can earn a maximum of 500 points for the week, depending on their ranking.
For a full breakdown of points and prize money, click here.
2023 United Cup Player Entries
POLAND - WTA 1
|
ATP |
WTA |
||||
|
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
|
HURKACZ, HUBERT |
11 |
S |
SWIATEK, IGA |
1 |
S |
|
MICHALSKI, DANIEL |
244 |
S |
LINETTE, MAGDA |
49 |
S |
|
ZUK, KACPER |
258 |
S |
FALKOWSKA, WERONIKA |
249 |
S |
|
KUBOT, LUKASZ |
24 |
PD |
ROSOLSKA, ALICJA |
34 |
D |
SPAIN - ATP 1
|
ATP |
WTA |
||||
|
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
|
NADAL, RAFAEL |
2 |
S |
BADOSA, PAULA |
13 |
S |
|
CARRENO BUSTA, PABLO |
13 |
S |
PARRIZAS DIAZ, NURIA |
72 |
S |
|
RAMOS-VINOLAS, ALBERT |
39 |
S |
BOUZAS MANEIRO, JESSICA |
206 |
S |
|
VEGA HERNANDEZ, DAVID |
31 |
D |
|
|
|
USA - WTA 2
|
ATP |
WTA |
||||
|
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
|
FRITZ, TAYLOR |
9 |
S |
PEGULA, JESSICA |
3 |
S |
|
TIAFOE, FRANCES |
19 |
S |
KEYS, MADISON |
11 |
S |
|
KUDLA, DENIS |
104 |
S |
PARKS, ALYCIA |
118 |
S |
|
REESE, HUNTER |
83 |
D |
KRAWCZYK, DESIRAE |
16 |
D |
GERMANY - ATP 2
|
ATP |
WTA |
||||
|
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
|
ZVEREV, ALEXANDER |
2 |
PS |
SIEGEMUND, LAURA |
57 |
PS |
|
OTTE, OSCAR |
59 |
S |
NIEMEIER, JULE |
61 |
S |
|
ALTMAIER, DANIEL |
80 |
S |
FRIEDSAM, ANNA-LENA |
145 |
S |
|
FALLERT, FABIAN |
107 |
D |
LOHOFF, JULIA |
144 |
D |
FRANCE - WTA 3
|
ATP |
WTA |
||||
|
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
|
RINDERKNECH, ARTHUR |
44 |
S |
GARCIA, CAROLINE |
4 |
S |
|
MANNARINO, ADRIAN |
48 |
S |
CORNET, ALIZÉ |
36 |
S |
|
GUINARD, MANUEL |
135 |
S |
JEANJEAN, LEOLIA |
125 |
S |
|
ROGER-VASSELIN, EDOUARD |
32 |
D |
PONCHET, JESSIKA |
103 |
D |
GREECE - ATP 3
|
ATP |
WTA |
||||
|
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
|
TSITSIPAS, STEFANOS |
3 |
S |
SAKKARI, MARIA |
6 |
S |
|
PERVOLARAKIS, MICHAIL |
448 |
S |
PAPAMICHAIL, DESPINA |
156 |
S |
|
SAKELLARIDIS, STEFANOS |
866 |
S |
GRAMMATIKOPOULOU, VALENTINI |
200 |
S |
|
TSITSIPAS, PETROS |
159 |
D |
SAKELLARIDI, SAPFO |
249 |
D |
SWITZERLAND - WTA 4
|
ATP |
WTA |
||||
|
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
|
WAWRINKA, STAN |
22 |
PS |
BENCIC, BELINDA |
12 |
S |
|
HUESLER, MARC-ANDREA |
58 |
S |
TEICHMANN, JIL |
35 |
S |
|
STRICKER, DOMINIC |
111 |
S |
IN-ALBON, YLENA |
152 |
S |
|
RITSCHARD, ALEXANDER |
170 |
S |
ZUGER, JOANNE |
186 |
S |
NORWAY - ATP 4
|
ATP |
WTA |
||||
|
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
|
RUUD, CASPER |
4 |
S |
EIKERI, ULRIKKE |
375 |
S |
|
DURASOVIC, VIKTOR |
333 |
S |
HELGO, MALENE |
394 |
S |
|
PETROVIC, ANDREJA |
1264 |
S |
HASETH, LILLY |
759 |
S |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BRAZIL - WTA 5
|
ATP |
WTA |
||||
|
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
|
MONTEIRO, THIAGO |
65 |
S |
HADDAD MAIA, BEATRIZ |
15 |
S |
|
MELIGENI ALVES, FELIPE |
164 |
S |
PIGOSSI, LAURA |
114 |
S |
|
PUCINELLI DE ALMEIDA, MATHEUS |
199 |
S |
ALVES, CAROLINA |
199 |
S |
|
MATOS, RAFAEL |
28 |
D |
STEFANI, LUISA |
55 |
D |
GREAT BRITAIN - ATP 5
|
ATP |
WTA |
||||
|
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
|
NORRIE, CAMERON |
14 |
S |
DART, HARRIET |
98 |
S |
|
EVANS, DANIEL |
27 |
S |
SWAN, KATIE |
121 |
S |
|
CHOINSKI, JAN |
265 |
S |
STOIBER, RANAH |
858 |
S |
|
O'MARA, JONNY |
92 |
D |
MCDONALD, ELLA |
22 |
JUNIOR |
CZECH REPUBLIC - WTA 6
|
ATP |
WTA |
||||
|
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
|
LEHECKA, JIRI |
74 |
S |
KVITOVA, PETRA |
16 |
S |
|
MACHAC, TOMAS |
117 |
S |
BOUZKOVA, MARIE |
26 |
S |
|
SVRCINA, DALIBOR |
207 |
S |
MALECKOVA, JESIKA |
309 |
S |
BULGARIA - ATP 6
|
ATP |
WTA |
||||
|
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
|
DIMITROV, GRIGOR |
28 |
S |
TOMOVA, VIKTORIYA |
90 |
S |
|
KUZMANOV, DIMITAR |
195 |
S |
SHINIKOVA, ISABELLA |
286 |
S |
|
ANDREEV, ADRIAN |
207 |
S |
TOPALOVA, GERGANA |
321 |
S |
|
LAZAROV, ALEXANDAR |
277 |
D |
|
|
|
ITALY - COMBINED 1
|
ATP |
WTA |
||||
|
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
|
BERRETTINI, MATTEO |
16 |
S |
TREVISAN, MARTINA |
28 |
S |
|
MUSETTI, LORENZO |
23 |
S |
BRONZETTI, LUCIA |
56 |
S |
|
VAVASSORI, ANDREA |
176 |
S |
ROSATELLO, CAMILA |
230 |
S |
|
BORTOLOTTI, MARCO |
113 |
D |
|
|
|
AUSTRALIA - COMBINED 2
|
ATP |
WTA |
||||
|
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
|
DE MINAUR, ALEX |
24 |
S |
TOMLJANOVIC, AJLA |
33 |
S |
| KUBLER, JASON |
105 |
S |
HIVES, ZOE |
142 |
PS |
| PEERS, JOHN |
38 |
D |
INGLIS, MADDISON |
177 |
S |
|
|
|
STOSUR, SAMANTHA |
113 |
D |
|
ARGENTINA - COMBINED 3
|
ATP |
WTA |
||||
|
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
|
CERUNDOLO, FRANCISCO |
30 |
S |
PODOROSKA, NADIA |
39 |
PS |
|
CORIA, FEDERICO |
68 |
S |
CARLE, MARIA |
161 |
S |
|
ETCHEVERRY. THOMAS MARTIN |
85 |
S |
ORMAECHEA, PAULA |
184 |
S |
CROATIA - COMBINED 4
|
ATP |
WTA |
||||
|
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
|
CORIC, BORNA |
26 |
S |
MARTIC, PETRA |
39 |
S |
|
GOJO, BORNA |
145 |
S |
VEKIC, DONNA |
69 |
S |
|
PECOTIC, MATIJA |
386 |
PS |
WURTH, TARA |
187 |
S |
|
|
|
|
MARCINKO, PETRA |
194 |
S |
BELGIUM - COMBINED 5
|
ATP |
WTA |
||||
|
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
|
GOFFIN, DAVID |
53 |
S |
MERTENS, ELISE |
29 |
S |
|
BERGS, ZIZOU |
138 |
S |
VAN UYTVANCK, ALISON |
54 |
S |
|
COPPEJANS, KIMMER |
191 |
S |
KEMPEN, MAGALI |
239 |
S |
|
GEERTS, MICHAEL |
162 |
D |
FLIPKENS, KIRSTEN |
30 |
D |
KAZAKHSTAN COMBINED 6
|
ATP |
WTA |
||||
|
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
Player |
Entry Rank |
Rank Type |
|
BUBLIK, ALEXANDER |
37 |
S |
PUTINTSEVA, YULIA |
52 |
S |
|
SKATOV, TIMOFEY |
146 |
S |
KULAMBAVEVA, ZHIBEK |
435 |
S |
|
YEVSEYEV, DENIS |
295 |
S |
AINITDINOVA, GOZAL |
583 |
S |
|
LOMAKIN, GRIGORIY |
210* |
D |
|
|
|
Note: Player participation is subject to change.
The players shown are for illustrative purposes only. Qualification and participation subject to ATP rules. Players may withdraw due to injury, illness or other grounds. Photographs courtesy of Getty Images and ATP tournament.
United Cup and the design of the ATP mark are registered trademarks of ATP Tour, Inc. © 2022 Tennis Australia Limited.
