UNITED CUP Press Release, October 20, 2023

Grand Slam giants Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Iga Swiatek of Poland will star in the new-look United Cup, the exciting innovative mixed team event in Perth and Sydney from 29 December to 7 January 2024.

Team Poland, led by world No.2 and four-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek and [11] Hubert Hurkacz, have been named as the top seeds for the 2024 edition after the entries from the top 16 countries were revealed today.

World No.7 Stefanos Tsitsipas and world No.6 Maria Sakkari will lead No.2-seeded Greece, with defending champions, the United States featuring world No.4 Jessica Pegula and 10th-ranked Taylor Fritz, seeded third.

France, the No.4 seeds will be steered by world No.10 Caroline Garcia and [24] Adrian Mannarino.

Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova will headline the Czech Republic team alongside [30] Jiri Lehecka.

And Croatia rounds out the top six, featuring [33] Borna Coric and [24] Donna Vekic.

Australian world No.13 Alex de Minaur, Ajla Tomljanovic and John Millman, as well as doubles stars, world No.2 Storm Hunter, world No.6 Matt Ebden and world No.24 Ellen Perez will fly the flag for the green and gold.

Four countries will make their debut in 2024. Serbia, led by 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic and Olga Danilovic, and Canada, featuring [17] Felix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Fernandez, will compete for the first time, along with China’s [19] Qinwen Zheng and Zhizhen Zhang and Netherlands’ [24] Talloon Griekspoor and Arantxa Rus.

Other standout entries include Norway’s [8] Casper Ruud, Germany’s Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber and Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie and Katie Boulter.

The top five WTA ranking-qualified countries, top five ATP ranking-qualified countries and the top six combined entry countries have been admitted to the competition.

The final two remaining countries (one WTA and one ATP) will be decided on Monday 20 November, based on the rankings published on this date.

LIST OF QUALIFIED COUNTRIES AND PLAYER ENTRY LIST 

P= Protected ranking, J= Junior ranking, *= Doubles ranking

“Wow, what a fantastic field we have for the United Cup in 2024, this will be an exciting and unmissable tennis experience this summer,” United Cup Tournament Director Stephen Farrow said.

“The United Cup holds a unique position in global tennis, with the world’s best men and women representing their country at the highest level. For 2024 we are delighted to welcome teams with both massive star power and great depth.

“The top 16 teams include some of the biggest names in tennis, such as Djokovic, Swiatek, Tsitsipas, Pegula, Fritz, Sakkari, De Minaur, Tomljanovic, Zverev, Kerber and more. They are all set to play in a format designed to showcase both the men’s and women’s game and the unique equality in tennis.

“We can’t wait to see some exciting match-ups between such a high calibre playing field, and lots of entertaining tennis in what promises to be a blockbuster event.”

The United Cup, an ATP-WTA event presented in partnership with Tennis Australia, offers a minimum AUD $15 million in prize money and 500 Pepperstone ATP and 500 WTA Tour rankings points. 

Eighteen countries will contest the second edition with each city to host nine teams – three more than 2023. Each team will comprise up to three men and three women. 

Countries will be drawn into six groups of three countries and will compete in a round-robin format. 

New for 2024 – each tie will be determined in one session and will include one men’s singles and one women’s singles match featuring the No.1 ranked singles players, followed by one mixed doubles match. 

Perth’s RAC Arena will host the first day of the United Cup on Friday 29 December, with the group stage in Sydney beginning on Saturday 30 December. 

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.

Winners will progress to the semifinals and finals in Sydney, which will be played on 6 and 7 January.

On Monday 23 October, the official draw will reveal the city where each team will begin the new tennis season. Watch the draw live from 11.30am AEDT on the United Cup Facebook page.

Player field fast facts

• Nine of the world’s top 20 men in singles (Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Hubert Hurkacz, Alex de Minaur, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Cameron Norrie)
• Five of the world’s top 10 women in singles (Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, Maria Sakkari, Marketa Vondrousova, Caroline Garcia)
• Five of the world’s top 10 men in doubles (Ivan Dodig, Wesley Koolhof, Neal Skupski, Matthew Ebden, Rajeev Ram)
• Six of the world’s top 20 women in doubles (Storm Hunter, Jessica Pegula, Desirae Krawczyk, Laura Siegemund, Demi Schuurs, Leylah Fernandez)
• Four Grand Slam singles champions (Iga Swiatek, Angelique Kerber, Marketa Vondrousova, Novak Djokovic)
• Eight Grand Slam singles finalists (Iga Swiatek, Novak Djokovic, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Angelique Kerber, Marketa Vondrousova, Leylah Fernandez)
• 10 Grand Slam doubles champions (Rajeev Ram, Desirae Krawczyk, Laura Siegemund, Storm Hunter, Matthew Ebden, Caroline Garcia, Edouard Roger-Vasselin, Ivan Dodig, Neal Skupski, Wesley Koolhof)
• Three current or former world No.1s in singles (Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek, Angelique Kerber)
• Four former world No.1s in doubles (Rajeev Ram, Jessica Pegula, Neal Skupski, Wesley Koolhof)
• Four new countries in the competition (Canada, China, Netherlands, Serbia).

Format and qualification

• The United Cup will take place from Friday 29 December to Sunday 7 January 2024
• The group stage and quarterfinals in Perth (RAC Arena) run from Friday 29 December to Wednesday 3 January
• The group stage and quarterfinals in Sydney (Ken Rosewall Arena) run from Saturday 30 December to Friday 5 January
• Sydney will host the semifinals and final on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 January
• Teams travelling from Perth to Sydney have a travel day and rest day before their semifinal
• Twelve countries will qualify for the United Cup via the six highest-ranked men and six highest-ranked women entered, based on their Pepperstone ATP and WTA Tour rankings
• Six teams will qualify according to the best combined ranking of the highest-ranked men’s and women’s players from the same country
• Australia is guaranteed entry and has qualified via direct entry in 2024

• Each city will host 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 tiebreak (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 finals to be played in Sydney
• The United Cup official draw will be held on 23 October and will determine where the top 16 countries will play. The second qualification deadline of 20 November will determine the last two teams.

Tickets

• Tickets to the United Cup group stage and quarterfinals go on sale at 5.00pm local time Wednesday 25 October
• Adult prices start from $40 and from $20 for children 3-12 years of age. Family passes (two adults and two children) start from $100.