Day Three of the United Cup features two of its biggest stars, WTA No.1 Iga Swiatek and 22-time ATP Grand Slam singles champion Rafael Nadal.

Both players are coming off memorable 2022 seasons, both on and off the court. And they will be challenged, they say, to move forward after those successes. Nadal, who won the Australian Open and Roland Garros this past year, and his wife, Maria, welcomed their first child, Rafael Nadal Perello, back in October. Swiatek ascended to the top of the Hologic WTA Tour rankings on April 4. Thirty-nine weeks later, she’s still there.

Day 2 from the United Cup

When Team Poland met the media, Swiatek’s ranking drew the most attention.

“For sure when Ash [Barty] retired, I felt mixed emotions,” Swiatek said. “At first I felt like I wasn’t sure if this is kind of my place to be. Ash, she seemed like a huge role model for everybody in terms of, you know, her behavior on court but also off court. She really set the bar pretty high, so I need to show it to people but also show it to myself that I’m in the right place.

“Hopefully maybe this week we are going to be able to meet and I’m going to say it straight to her. But she really inspired me to work harder and her different, I don’t know, game style made me realize that there is always room for improvement.”

Nadal, 36, now the all-time leader with 22 major titles, took a break after losing to Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round of the US Open. He was asked about his new role as a father.

“Well,” he said, smiling, “the first event I play like a father without the baby with me, I lost [Paris] first round. Second event, traveling with the baby, I was out of the [Nitto ATP Finals] group stage. At the end I won my last match, but I need to keep improving, no? Easy.”

Getting enough sleep hasn’t been a problem, he said.

“We have some help.” Nadal said. “No problem at all. Just I need to organize little bit my life, as everybody needs to do when you have a child in your life. Excited to play this competition for the first time. Then let’s see. Let’s try our best and let’s see how far we can go.”

Nadal plays the first match of the second session at Ken Rosewall Arena against Cameron Norrie of Great Britain. They have a recent but extensive history, and it’s been all Rafa, 4-0. They played three times in 2021, two of them majors, and most recently at 2022 Acapulco, when Nadal won 6-4, 6-4.

Likewise, Swiatek leads off the late session at Pat Rafter Arena against Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan. Swiatek won their only meeting last fall in straight sets in Ostrava. She is “super proud” of herself for the accomplishments of the past year -- Swiatek won half of the Grand Slams and WTA 1000 events (six of 12) -- but forgive her if she doesn’t want to look back every time she has a press conference.

Little reason to believe Swiatek will slow down in 2023

“At the beginning of this year, I’m going to try to kind of cut off everything that happened last year and just focus on the future,” she said. “Because I feel like I can take a lot of experience from these tournaments last year, but I don’t want to really hold on to that too much, because I want to go forward and kind of focus on my next goals.”

United Cup: Day 3 Order of play (local time)

A new team will enter each of the six groups in United Cup play on Day 3, with one of the two other teams from each group getting a couple day’s rest. Here’s a look at the matchups and order of play.

Current group standings here

Sydney, Ken Rosewall Arena

Germany vs. Czech Republic (Group C)

Alexander Zverev (GER) vs. Jiri Lehecka (CZE), 10 a.m.

Jule Niemeier (GER) vs. Marie Bouzkova, to follow

Spain vs. Great Britain (Group D)

Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Cameron Norrie (GBR), 3:30 p.m.

Nuria Parrizas Diaz (ESP) vs. Katie Swan (GBR), to follow

Perth, RAC Arena

Belgium vs. Bulgaria (Group A)

Alison Van Uytvanck (BEL) vs. Isabella Shinikova (BUL), 10 a.m.

David Goffin (BEL) vs. Grigor Dimitrov (BUL), to follow

Croatia vs. Argentina (Group F)

Donna Vekic (CRO) vs. Maria Carle (ARG), 3:30 p.m.

Borna Coric (CRO) vs. Francisco Cerundolo (ARG), to follow

Brisbane, Pat Rafter Arena

Brazil vs. Norway (Group E)

Beatriz Haddad Maia (BRA) vs. Ulrikke Eikeri (NOR), 10 a.m.

Felipe Meligeni Rodriguez Alves (BRA) vs. Viktor Durasovic (NOR), to follow

Poland vs. Kazakhstan (Group B)

Iga Swiatek (POL) vs. Yulia Putintseva (KAZ), 3:30 p.m.

Daniel Michalski (POL) vs. Timofey Skatov (KAZ), to follow