- Team USA, Team Germany, and Team Canada join United Cup 2025
- Top 16 countries confirmed next week before official draw on Monday, Oct. 21
- Group stage tickets go on sale at 5 p.m. local time Tuesday, Oct. 22
Team USA’s Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz, Germany’s Alexander Zverev and Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Fernandez will play in the United Cup in 2025.
They join Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari, China’s Zheng Qinwen and Norway’s Casper Ruud, who have all committed early to the third edition of the tournament.
From Friday, Dec. 27, to Sunday, Jan. 5, 18 countries, featuring up to three men and up to three women, will compete across Perth and Sydney.
Twenty-year-old Gauff will make her United Cup debut for Team USA alongside Fritz, the U.S. Open men’s singles finalist.
“This will be my first time playing the United Cup, so I’m super excited to kick off the year in Australia,” Gauff said. “It’s really an honor to represent my country. It’s a really cool event. I had a lot of fun playing mixed doubles at the Olympics, so I kind of want to do that again.
“I’ve never been to other parts of Australia other than Melbourne. I don’t know what city we’re going to play in yet, but I’m super excited to go, whether it’s Perth or Sydney.”
Zverev, who helped guide Germany to a memorable comeback to defeat Poland 2-1 and win the second edition of the United Cup, is looking forward to making his third appearance at the tournament.
“It’s the first week of the year, and we all want to be in Australia and play against the best players in the world, and that’s what the United Cup brings,” the 27-year-old said. Zverev reached the Roland Garros final in May and holds 22 ATP singles titles.
“Playing for your nation is obviously extremely special, and I have the best memories from this year.”
The unique team environment that the United Cup offers is a significant motivation for Fernandez and Auger-Aliassime to line up for Team Canada again in 2025.
“I want to play United Cup 2025 because it’s such a fun team experience,” Fernandez said. “I love being part of a team. I get to see a little bit more of the men’s side of the team and also how they think on court; I get to pick their brains a little bit.
“I also think the interaction between all of us is special. We grew up together, so it’s good to have that moment to catch up.”
Auger-Aliassime agrees, saying, “It’s a great way to start the year. I’ve had great success playing for my country and mixing it up with Leylah is always good. I love her energy; I love her game, so it’s going to be a lot of fun.
“It’s honestly my favorite thing; some of my favorite weeks on tour are playing as part of a team.”
United Cup Tournament Director Stephen Farrow is delighted to have five more players commit to the tournament early.
“We are so pleased to see Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff line up for Team USA for the first time alongside U.S. Open finalist Taylor Fritz,” Farrow said. “Germany’s Alexander Zverev, one of the ATP Tour’s most consistent players, always brings the energy to the United Cup, and no doubt the defending champions will be raring to go for the first week of the new year.
“We are also delighted to welcome Leylah Fernandez and Felix Auger-Aliassime back to the event in 2025. The Canadian fans turned out in droves earlier this year, and we look forward to seeing them in their country colors again to support the team’s next campaign.”
Participation in the United Cup is subject to players committing by the tournament’s entry deadline of Oct. 16 for the first 16 teams. The remaining two teams will be decided after the second qualification date of Nov. 19.
The official draw will be held on Monday, Oct. 21, and will determine where each country will play the group stage.
Ten countries will qualify for the United Cup via the five highest-ranked men and five highest-ranked women entered based on their PIF ATP and WTA rankings.
Format and qualification
- The third edition of the United Cup will be held from Friday, Dec. 27, to Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025.
- The group stage in Perth (RAC Arena) runs from Friday, Dec. 27, to Tuesday, Dec. 31. The quarterfinals in Perth will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 1 (New Year’s Day).
- The group stage in Sydney (Ken Rosewall Arena) runs from Saturday, Dec. 28 to Wednesday, Jan. 1 (New Year’s Day). The quarterfinals in Sydney will be held across Thursday, Jan. 2 and Friday, Jan. 3.
- Sydney will host two semifinals on Saturday, Jan. 4, followed by the United Cup final from 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 5.
- Teams traveling from Perth to Sydney have a travel day and rest day before their semifinal matches.
- At the entry deadline on Oct. 16, 10 countries will qualify for the United Cup via the five highest-ranked men and five highest-ranked women entered, based on their PIF ATP and WTA rankings.
- Eight teams will qualify according to the best combined ranking of the highest-ranked men’s and women’s players from the same country.
- New for 2025: At the second qualification date, if there is a player in the Top 10 (maximum 1 ATP and 1 WTA player) of the latest PIF ATP or WTA rankings who has entered and has an eligible team but has not been accepted based on their individual ATP/WTA ranking, they will be accepted, and their team will replace the lowest-ranked team with the combined ranking.
- Australia is guaranteed entry, either directly via ranking or as a wild card.
- Each city will host nine teams each -- three groups of three countries competing in a round-robin format.
- Each tie will comprise one men’s singles and one women’s singles match featuring the No. 1 ranked singles players, and one mixed doubles match.
- Singles matches are best of three tiebreak sets. Mixed doubles matches are two tiebreak sets with a deciding match tie-break (10-point) at one set all.
- Group winners in each city advance to the quarterfinals, with one quarterfinal spot in each city awarded to the best runner-up in that city.
- Winners will progress to the semifinals and final, to be played in Sydney.
- The United Cup official draw will be held on Oct. 21 and will determine where the top 16 countries will play. The second qualification date of Nov. 19 will determine the final two teams.
Tickets
- Tickets for the United Cup quarterfinals in Perth are now on sale via Ticketek.
- Tickets for the United Cup quarterfinals, semifinals, and final in Sydney are now on sale via Ticketmaster.
- Tickets to the United Cup group stage go on sale on Tuesday, Oct. 22, at 5:00 p.m. local time in Sydney and Perth.
Follow @UnitedCupTennis on social media for the latest tournament news.
