Some of the world’s best players from both the men’s and women’s Tour’s will join forces to participate in a brand new tennis event.
The United Cup is a joint-venture created by the ATP and WTA that will feature 18 teams playing across three cities in Australia. It will be the first time the two governing bodies will host an event together which is being done so in partnership with Tennis Australia. There will be a total of $15M in prize money up for grabs, as well as 500 Pepperstone ATP Rankings and WTA rankings points.
Under tournament rules, the first 12 teams will qualify for the event based on the six highest ranked players on the ATP and WTA Tours who enter. The other six will qualify based on their combined ranking. The entry cut-off date will be November 7th. Each team will have between three to four players from each Tour.
The 11-day event will be held in Brisbane (Pat Rafter Arena), Perth (RAC Arena) and Sydney (Ken Rosewall Arena). Perth was the city which staged the highly successful Hopman Cup between 1989-2019. Another mixed team event which was run by the International Tennis Federation but didn’t have the ability to offer ranking points.
Each city will host two groups of three countries with ties being played in a round-robin format. Each tie will feature five matches – two women’s singles, two men’s singles and one mixed doubles.
“I love to see the men and women competing together. It’s something I’m very excited about,” three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray commented on the new event. “We’re the only global sport where men and women compete at the same venues, which is something very special about our sport and something to be celebrated. Big events like this will help.
“I’m sure all the players will be very passionate about competing for their countries and the men and women will work together to support each other.”
Tennis Australia CEO Craif Tiley says the event promises to ‘unite both the men’s and women’s tour in a brand-new way that has never been seen before.’ The latest development has been hailed as a step towards equality in tennis but the process to get there in recent years hasn’t gone smoothly as some would have hoped.
Until this year, the season had started with the men-only ATP Cup which was also played across three Australian cities. Its birth prompted the end of the Hopman Cup which caused frustration among many tennis fans. Furthermore, a contractual agreement meant the ATP Cup matches had to take place in the premier stadiums. Resulting in women’s matches at the Brisbane WTA 500 being played on the smaller courts and triggering a debate around sexism.
As a result of the war in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus will be banned from playing in the inaugural United Cup. The countries are currently suspended from playing in team tournaments by the ITF and players are only allowed to compete on the Tour as neutral athletes.
“If you’re doing a national team competition when players obviously are playing for that flag and for that national pride, all we’re doing is taking the same position that the whole of the sport has taken,” The Telegraph quoted tournament director Stephen Farrow as saying.
The United Cup will take place from December 29 to January 8.
