United Cup draw: Swiatek, Paolini to start in Sydney; Gauff, Zheng in Perth

The draw for the 2025 United Cup took place on Monday, where the 18 teams -- 16 national and 2 combined -- were drawn into six groups and placed into the two host cities of Perth and Sydney.

Perth will host the top-seeded Americans, led by Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz, who lead Group A, along with a Canadian squad led by Leylah Fernandez and Felix Auger-Aliassime. 

Sydney will host the No.2 seeded Polish squad, led by Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz, a team that finished runner-up to Germany last year. Poland leads Group B along with a Czech side led by Karolina Muchova and Tomas Machac, and Casper Ruud's Norwegian squad.

The third edition of the team event will be held from Dec. 27 to Jan. 5, 2025. Seven of the world’s Top 10 women and six of the Top 12 men have committed. Group play will be staged in Perth and Sydney, with the top teams from each group advancing. 

Perth

Group A
USA: Coco Gauff, Taylor Fritz, Danielle Collins, Denis Kudla, Desirae Krawczyk, Robert Galloway
Canada: Leylah Fernandez, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Stacey Fung, Liam Draxl, Ariana Arseneault
Combined #2: TBD

Group C
Greece: Maria Sakkari, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Despina Papamichail, Stefanos Sakellaridis,
Valentini Grammatikopoulou, Petros Tsitsipas
Kazakhstan: Elena Rybakina, Alexander Shevchenko, Zhibek Kulambayeva, Dmitry Popko, Aleksandr Nedovyesov
Spain: Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, Pablo Carreño Busta, Marina Bassols Ribera, Carlos Taberner, Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers, Sergio Martos Gornes

Group E
China: Zheng Qinwen, Zhang Zhizhen, Gao Xinyu, Bai Yan, Zhang Shuai, Sun Fajing
Germany: Laura Siegemund, Alexander Zverev, Lena Papadakis, Daniel Masur, Vivien Heisen, Tim Puetz
Brazil: Beatriz Haddad Maia, Thiago Monteiro, Caroline Alves, Gustavo Heide, Luisa Stefani, Rafael Matos

Sydney

Group B
Poland: Iga Swiatek, Hubert Hurkacz, Maja Chwalinska, Kamil Majchrzak, Alicja Rosolska, Jan Zielinski
Czechia: Karolina Muchova, Tomas Machac, Gabriela Knutson, Marek Gengel, Vendula Valdmannova, Patrik Rikl
Norway: Malene Helgø, Casper Ruud, Emilie Lindh Gallagher, Viktor Durasovic, Ulrikke Eikeri, Nicolai Budkov Kjaer

Group D
Italy: Jasmine Paolini, Flavio Cobolli, Sara Errani, Matteo Gigante, Angelica Moratelli, Andrea Vavassori
France: Diane Parry, Ugo Humbert, Chloe Paquet, Corentin Moutet, Elixane Lechemia, Edouard Roger-Vasselin
Switzerland: Belinda Bencic, Dominic Stricker, Celine Naef, Remy Bertola, Conny Perrin, Jakub Paul

Group F
Australia: Olivia Gadecki, Alex De Minaur, Destanee Aiava, Omar Jasika, Ellen Perez, Matthew Ebden 
Great Britain: Katie Boulter, Jack Draper, Yuriko Lily Miyazaki, Billy Harris, Olivia Nicholls, Joe Salisbury
Combined #1: TBD

Player field is subject to change

More on the format for the 2025 United Cup:

• Eighteen teams featuring up to three men and up to three women will compete for a minimum $10 million in prize money and 500 PIF ATP and WTA rankings points.
• Participation is subject to players committing to the event 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.
• Ten countries will qualify via the five highest-ranked men and five highest-ranked women entered based on their PIF ATP and WTA rankings at the first entry deadline. 
• Eight teams will qualify according to the best combined ranking of the highest-ranked men’s and women’s players from the same country.
• Perth will open the United Cup on Friday, Dec. 27 at RAC Arena. The group stage in Sydney will a day later on Saturday, Dec. 28 at Ken Rosewall Arena.
• Group winners in each city will advance to the quarterfinals with one quarterfinal spot in each city awarded to the best runner-up in that city.
• The quarterfinals in Perth will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 1, with the victorious teams given a travel day to Sydney on Jan. 2. The quarterfinals in Sydney will be held on Thursday, Jan. 2 and Friday, Jan. 3.
• The semifinals will be hosted in Sydney on Saturday, Jan. 4. The final will be played on Sunday, Jan. 5.