Swiatek, Gauff among stars as United Cup 2026 teams unveiled

Five of the world’s top 10 men and four of the world’s top 10 women are among the international tennis superstars to commit to United Cup 2026 after entries were revealed today.

From Jan. 2-11, 2026, 18 countries will feature teams of up to three men and three women to join forces and compete side-by-side for the fourth consecutive year.

The United States, two-time champions led by World No. 3 Coco Gauff and World No. 6 Taylor Fritz, have been named as the top seeds in their return to defend their title.

Six-time Grand Slam champion and World No. 2 Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz lead Poland for the country’s fourth appearance, while World No. 3 Alexander Zverev will spearhead Germany alongside newcomer Eva Lys, in pursuit of a second United Cup title.

Japan makes its debut at the event this summer with four-time Grand Slam champion and former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka lining up with 2019 Junior Wimbledon champion Shintaro Mochizuki.

World No. 8 and 2024 Roland Garros and Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini will guide Italy alongside rising star Flavio Cobolli, while Great Britain unveils a fresh line-up featuring World No. 10 Jack Draper and 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka will be Down Under alongside world No. 11 Belinda Bencic for Switzerland, and popular duo Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari, both former world No. 3s, are back for Greece. Furthermore, World No. 8 Felix Auger-Aliassime and rising star Victoria Mboko will represent Canada.

Hometown favorites Australia will see World No. 7 Alex de Minaur and the nation’s new top-ranked woman, World No.32 Maya Joint, play in the green and gold along with Jason Kubler, Maddison Inglis, John-Patrick Smith and former World No. 1 doubles player Storm Hunter.

Other standout names competing in 2026 include Czechia’s Barbora Krejcikova and Jakub Mensik, the youngest player in the World’s top 20. Plus, World No. 12 Casper Ruud will represent Norway while Zhizhen Zhang and Zhu Lin will compete for China.

Top Six Seeds

USA

Canada

Italy

Australia

Great Britain

Germany

“The entry list for the United Cup this summer is world class. We’re excited to welcome five of the world’s top 10 men and four of the world’s top 10 women in 2026,” 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 committed to play in mixed teams and showcase equality in the sport. We look forward to the official draw next Monday to determine where our 18 countries will play across Perth and Sydney.

“It will be fascinating to see where the likes of Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Alexander Zverev, Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz and Jasmine Paolini end up competing. With AO 2019 and 2021 champion Naomi Osaka also leading Team Japan in its United Cup debut, the star power in 2026 is undeniable.

“Add to that Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu for Great Britain, and Stan Wawrinka and Belinda Bencic for Team Switzerland, and fans in both cities are in for an absolute treat.”

Participation is subject to players committing to the event by the tournament’s entry deadline of Nov. 11. At the entry deadline, 10 countries 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 qualify according to the best combined ranking of the highest-ranked men’s and women’s players from the same country. Seeding for the event is based on the combined ranking of the top ATP and top WTA players using the ranking as of Nov. 10.

The official draw will be held on Nov. 17, when countries will be drawn into six groups of three countries across Perth and Sydney.

Format and Qualification

The United Cup sees 18 countries, featuring up to three men and three women, compete side-by-side across Perth and Sydney during the first week of the tennis season. The fourth edition of the United Cup will be held from Jan. 2-11, 2026.

The group stage in Perth (RAC Arena) runs from Jan. 2-6, and the quarterfinals in Perth will be held on Jan. 7. In Sydney (Ken Rosewall Arena), the group stage runs from Jan. 3-7, and the quarterfinals in Sydney will be held across Jan. 8-9. Sydney will host two semifinals on Jan. 10 followed by the United Cup final at from 5.30 pm local time Jan. 11.

Teams traveling from Perth to Sydney have a travel day and rest day before their semifinal matches.

Each city will host nine teams each -- three groups of three countries in a round-robin format.

Each tie will comprise of 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 final to be played in Sydney.

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