United Cup preview: Day 1 action kicks off with Rybakina and Carreno Busta

If you live in one of the colder corners of the world this holiday season, take heart. For it’s summer Down Under, where tennis is about to be rekindled with some spectacular competition.

Call it Australia Ablaze -- and they’re unpacking the heat.

There are ATP Tour and WTA Tour tournaments happening in Brisbane, Auckland (New Zealand) Hobart and Adelaide, culminating with the season’s first Grand Slam, the Australian Open, from Jan. 12-26 in Melbourne.

But it all starts Friday (in Australia) with the United Cup, featuring some of the best men and women in the world. Eighteen nations square off in this unique event, with venues in Sydney and Perth, looking to start the season by grabbing a significant chunk of the $11 million prize pot and a generous portion of the PIF Ranking points on offer.

Allow us to drop a few names: 

World No.2 Iga Swiatek, No.3 Coco Gauff, No.4 Jasmine Paolini and No.6 Elena Rybakina -- four of the top six WTA Tour players. How’s that for star power?

Swiatek was part of Poland’s run to the finals last year, which forged two match points before falling to Germany.

“Last year’s match brings a lot of emotions, but I still remember it as a positive one,” Swiatek told Tennis Australia. It was pretty entertaining for sure.”

The men’s side is loaded, too: No.2 Alexander Zverev, No. 4 Taylor Fritz, No.6 Casper Ruud, No.9 Alex de Minaur, No.11 Stefanos Tsitsipas, No.16 Hubert Hurkacz.

Fritz, along with Jessica Pegula, was part of the United States team that won the inaugural event in 2023. The format has changed, Fritz noted.

“The year that we won, we could use our team’s depth a lot more to help us,” Fritz told Tennis Australia. “Now a lot more things can go wrong for the favorite team when it’s just one [singles] match each and a deciding mixed doubles.

“Looking forward to it.”

The United States, based on the Top 5 singles rankings of Fritz and Gauff, is the top-seeded team and begins play in Perth on Sunday. No.2 Poland, with Swiatek and Hurkacz, swings into action on Monday against Norway. Greece, featuring Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari, is No.3. Defending champion Germany, led by Zverev and Laura Siegemund, also gets underway on Monday, against Brazil. 

And there are some tasty individual storylines to savor as well:

• Will Zverev -- a 2024 Masters 1000 winner in Rome and Paris and a Roland Garros finalist -- find the groove and become No.1 for the first time?
• How will Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic fare in her first significant action since giving birth to daughter Bella?
• When Great Britain and Australia meet on the last day of group play, could a mixed doubles match featuring recently engaged Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur on opposite sides of the court determine which team advances to the quarterfinals?

Group winners in Perth and Sydney will reach the quarters with one quarterfinal spot in each city awarded to the best runner up in that city. The quarterfinals in Perth will be held on New Year’s Day and continue on Jan. 2 and 3 in Sydney.

The semifinals and final will be hosted in Sydney on Jan. 4 and the final on Sunday, Jan. 5. 

Here’s a look at what’s upcoming:

Day 1 schedule, Perth, RAC Arena

Group C: Kazakhstan vs. Spain 

Start Time:  (10 a.m. local, 9 p.m. ET)

Men’s Singles: Alexander Shevchenko vs. Pablo Carreno Busta

Women’s Singles: Elena Rybakina vs. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro

Mixed Doubles: Alexander Shevchenko / Elena Rybakina vs. Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers / Sergio Martos Gornes

Group E: China vs. Brazil 

Start Time: (5 p.m. local, 4 a.m. ET)

Women’s Singles: Gao Xinyu vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia

Men’s Singles: Zhang Zhizhen vs. Thiago Monteiro

Mixed Doubles: Zhang Zhizhen / S. Zhang vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia / Rafael Matos

Can new coach Goran Ivanisevic tweak the game of 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and help her get to the next level?

Rybakina lines up opposite Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, who won 50 matches last year. Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko goes against Pablo Carreno Busta.

Group E: China vs. Brazil (5 p.m. local, 4 a.m. ET)

With the withdrawal of Paris singles gold medalist Zheng Qinwen, China’s hopes fall on Gao Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen. Brazil features Beatriz Haddad Maia and Thiago Monteiro.

Coming attractions on the WTA

Qualifying is already underway at the Brisbane International presented by Evie and main-draw matches begin on Sunday.

The field is headed by PIF World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka but also features Top 10 players Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro and Daria Kasatkina. In all 11 of the Top 20 players are expected to be in action.

Main-draw play at the ASB Classic in Auckland begins on Monday. The top seeds are Madison Keys, Elise Mertens and Amanda Anisimova, but all eyes will be on Grand Slam champions Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu, who will attempt to return to the elite level after encouraging comebacks last season.