Sponsored by Tennis Australia
By James Dampney
There are nine women and eight men currently in the world’s top 20 competing in the new United Cup tournament – being staged in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth from the end of December – led by women’s world No.1 Iga Swiatek and the second-ranked Nadal.
Many of the world’s top tennis players will be participating in the new United Cup.Credit:Tennis Australia
Each team will consist of up to four men and up to four women.
On paper, Greece is the strongest contender with the combined team being seeded at No.1.
The United States will boast No.3 female Jessica Pegula and No.9 male Taylor Fritz.
But doubles great and current commentator Todd Woodbridge believes a Spanish team featuring defending Australian Open champion Nadal and world No.13 Paula Badosa could be the one they are all chasing.
The draw has also put Spain and Australia together, meaning fans are likely to enjoy Nadal against Australian No.1 Nick Kyrgios, a Wimbledon semi-final match this year that never eventuated due to an injury to the Spaniard.
“It’s a very strong field,” said Woodbridge. “What’s key to it for all the players in the lead-up to the Australian Open is the guarantee of matches. As a player, you’re always looking ahead in a major to be in the best form you can.
“This event is very different to what the other three majors have as it’s a perfect preparation for the majority of the playing group and that’s why the players have embraced it.”
The United Cup has a number of standout features, particularly men and women playing alongside each other for equal prize money and equal rankings points.
They are all competing for a share of the US$15 million on offer.
Players will be competing for a total prize pool of $15 million.Credit:Tennis Australia
“It’s an exciting opportunity for our sport,” said former world No.26 and Australian Billie Jean King Cup (formerly Fed Cup) representative Casey Dellacqua.
“It’s the first time we’ll bring the men’s and women’s tours together for a global team event offering huge prize money and big rankings points.
“It’s a wonderful innovation for the sport and it will be a blockbuster start to the summer of tennis.”
Woodbridge echoed those sentiments.
“It’s the first time the ATP and WTA have really worked together to progress the game as one,” he said.
“I think that’s fantastic. The ATP Cup was strong and a success, but it left a question mark about what the women are doing in the lead-up to this Australian summer.
“It works really nicely to pool them all together and create an opportunity to represent their country. The only other event where they can do that is the Olympics and that’s just the mixed doubles, so this is something completely different for our sport.”
While the top singles players will be important, depth across the teams could prove the difference when the United Cup starts on December 29.
The US looks to have the strongest team overall, with women’s world No.11 Madison Keys and men’s No.19 Frances Tiafoe also in their side, while Pegula is No.6 in the doubles rankings and teammate Desirae Krawczyk is 16th.
Then you have teams like Norway, who feature world No.3 Casper Ruud, but no other player within the world’s top 300, men or women.
“Depth will definitely be an issue for some sides,” Woodbridge said. “We’ve got Casper Ruud playing for Norway and of course they don’t have the depth of others.
“But what this does for a country like Norway, they’ve got a star now in Ruud and they’ve got the opportunity to bring others along with it to get the exposure and experience.
“You look at Greece, a few years back they didn’t have anything like that. Now you’ve got two stars in (4th-ranked Stefanos) Tsitsipas and (6th-ranked Maria) Sakkari. It changes the perception in certain markets of tennis.
“That also for me is what the country representation is about. You’re facing a little bit of extra pressure playing for say Australia as opposed to just for yourself.
“That brings some really good elements for a player’s development and growth, and how they handle that.”
To learn more, visit www.unitedcup.com.
