United Cup

Week 1 will feature the United Cup, the new 18-country, mixed-teams event. The world's best players will be in action across Brisbane, Perth and Sydney, ...

[Hubert Hurkacz](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/hubert-hurkacz/hb71/overview). 1 [Lukasz Kubot](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/lukasz-kubot/k540/overview). Will the Italians be able to take it a step further in the [United Cup](https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/archive/brisbane-perth-sydney/9900/2023/results), with Martina Trevisan on their side? [Arthur Rinderknech](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/arthur-rinderknech/rc91/overview) (No. Fans at the Queensland Tennis Centre enjoyed the first [ATP Cup](https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/archive/atp-cup/8888/2022/results) in the city in 2020, and will now get a taste of the inaugural [United Cup](https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/archive/brisbane-perth-sydney/9900/2023/results). 44 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings), who reached his maiden ATP Tour final in Australia last season at the [Adelaide International 2](https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/adelaide/8998/overview), and [Adrian Mannarino](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/adrian-mannarino/me82/overview) (No. [United Cup](https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/archive/brisbane-perth-sydney/9900/2023/results). [Ken Rosewall](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/ken-rosewall/r075/overview) Arena over the coming days. Tsitsipas takes on Team Bulgaria’s [Grigor Dimitrov](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/grigor-dimitrov/d875/overview) in a blockbuster opening ATP singles match, and the World No. [Stefanos Tsitsipas](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/stefanos-tsitsipas/te51/overview) and Maria Sakkari are the No. [Lleyton Hewitt](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/lleyton-hewitt/h432/overview) and Samantha Stosur will aim to bring home fans joy and guide Team Australia to the title in Sydney over the next 11 days. The world's best players will be in action across Brisbane, Perth and Sydney, including Spaniard [Rafael Nadal](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/rafael-nadal/n409/overview) and Poland's Iga Swiatek.

New joint ATP and WTA tournament is the sport's first attempt to harness the combined forces of the male and female games.

On Wednesday, on the eve of the new event and season, the event began with the news that Australia’s Nick Kyrgios had withdrawn due to an unspecified injury, meaning his keenly awaited match against Nadal has been cancelled. Rather than ties being contested over best of three rubbers, the event will be held over a more expansive best of five rubbers with 18 teams and the ties will be played over two days. At a time when both the social and financial value of women’s sports is rising, As a consequence, the prospect of watching Spain’s Rafael Nadal alongside Paula Badosa, Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz for Poland or Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece competing with Maria Sakkari is counterbalanced by the numerous far lower ranked players present. The Hopman Cup was one of the few places where those players would converge in competition, but while it was enjoyable and popular, it was ultimately an inconsequential exhibition. During the first week of Wimbledon in 2019, even with two grand slam singles titles up for contention, most of the attention early on came from an unexpected direction.

Nick Kyrgios has once again taken to social media to hit back at criticism after he pulled out of the Unite...

to grow our fan base, basically trying to put tennis on the map again," he tweeted. [clicking here](https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=wwos&redirect_uri=https://wwos.nine.com.au&newsletter=true)! [Tennis boss defends Kyrgios' 'precautionary' withdrawal](https://wwos.nine.com.au/tennis/united-cup-2023-tennis-australia-craig-tiley-defends-nick-kyrgios-withdrawal/51f442b2-d033-4d78-978f-72e7c65af34e) [How Rafter made 'ratbag' Federer 'turn to water](https://wwos.nine.com.au/tennis/happy-slam-podcast-pat-rafter-roger-federer-1999-french-open-ratbag/7f85a2b8-9d08-4616-8c94-9423bba61377) [Stefanos Tsitsipas took a sly dig at the Aussie](https://wwos.nine.com.au/tennis/united-cup-2022-stefanos-tsitsipas-nick-kyrgios-withdrawal-ankle-injury/0a725563-f3ea-474e-b6b3-cc262ef0e3f3) over his withdrawal, while [Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley leapt to the player's defence](https://wwos.nine.com.au/tennis/united-cup-2023-tennis-australia-craig-tiley-defends-nick-kyrgios-withdrawal/51f442b2-d033-4d78-978f-72e7c65af34e) over the decision not to represent his country. [Nick Kyrgios](https://wwos.nine.com.au/tennis/nick-kyrgios) has once again taken to social media to hit back at perceived criticism after he sensationally pulled out of the [United Cup](https://wwos.nine.com.au/tennis/united-cup) on the eve of the tournament.

Frances Tiafoe lapped it up. Pegula sunk a little further down in her chair with a wry smile. Taylor Fritz smirked. Madison Keys couldn't stop laughing. United ...

Everyone starts at zero, I start over, there’s no pressure and I’ll play how I play and see where we are at the end of the year. “I feel pretty relaxed and the way I look at it every season, I just imagine the points reset to zero and we start from nothing. “Definitely a bit of nerves for the first match of the season,” he said. It’s the start of the year, it’s fast and bouncy and suits my game really well.” Fritz is one of the stars who was tracked for Netflix’s new Break Point documentary set to air in January. It might also help that they’re the only country with all four singles players inside the top 20.

Watch live: Novak Djokovic addresses the media in Adelaide · 'It takes real discipline': Can de Minaur beat Norrie?

“The atmosphere was great,” a triumphant Norrie said after the match. A consistent Norrie won 6-3, 6-3 amid a thrilling series of match points that left de Minaur wanting. Australia’s Alex de Minaur has lost to Cameron Norrie in straight sets in Sydney.

World No.4 Stefanos Tsitsipas has hailed the arrival of the United Cup, and he hopes Greece become the...

we have a really good team to go far in the tournament." I was looking forward to playing him," Norrie said of Kyrgios' exit. "I'm pretty disappointed. "I won the Hopman Cup in 2014 and the Fed Cup in 2019," Cornet said. Tsitsipas was a huge fan of the Hopman Cup, and he loves the fact the United Cup is also a mixed-team event. Unlike the Hopman Cup, ranking points are on offer for the United Cup, and Tsitsipas hopes the tournament is here to stay.