Draper & Raducanu to team up for GB at United Cup
British number ones Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu could partner each other in mixed doubles after agreeing to play at the 2026 United Cup in Australia.
British number ones Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu could partner each other in mixed doubles after agreeing to play at the 2026 United Cup in Australia.
Team Australia’s Alex de Minaur and Maya Joint and Great Britain’s Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu have committed early to United Cup 2026.
They join Team Poland’s World No. 2 Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz as the first three teams to be confirmed for the fourth edition of the innovative mixed-team tennis event across Perth and Sydney from 2 to 11 January.
Home favourite De Minaur, the 26-year-old Sydneysider who returned to a career-high PIF ATP Ranking of No. 6 this week, will spearhead the Australian team in his fourth appearance at the event.
“The United Cup is going to be a lot of fun,” De Minaur said. “The event is unique and it offers up something completely different for fans. They love to embrace the format and get behind the Aussies at home.
“The energy at the United Cup is electric. It’s fun being on court but also on the bench, being loud and noisy, supporting each other.”
Joint, Australia’s top-ranked women’s singles player, will line up alongside De Minaur in her first appearance for Team Australia. The 19-year-old claimed her first two WTA singles titles in 2025 and has risen from World No. 730 to No. 32 in two years.
British No. 1s Draper and Raducanu will also debut at the United Cup in 2026. Draper, who climbed to a career-high PIF ATP Ranking of No. 4 in June after winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells, is looking forward to starting the new tennis season at the United Cup.
“I am excited to get back on court and compete in the United Cup. I’ll be looking out for the draw to see if Team GB will play in Perth or Sydney,” Draper said. “I haven’t been to either so it will be nice to compete in a brand new city in Australia.”
“I’m honoured to be able to make my United Cup debut in January,” US Open 2021 champion Raducanu said. “Being able to play for Team GB with my teammates is a unique opportunity and week to enjoy. It’s great to be able to experience a new format on the tour, represent my country and spend a couple extra weeks in Australia.”
United Cup Tournament Director Stephen Farrow expects the fierce rivalry between Australia and Great Britain to reignite this summer if they meet again in 2026.
“We’re delighted Alex de Minaur and Maya Joint have committed early for Team Australia at the United Cup,” Farrow said. “Equally, to see British No. 1s in Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu line up for the first time will bring new star power to the tournament.
“In 2025, Team Great Britain reached the quarter-finals after navigating a tightly contested group stage in Sydney. They opened with a strong 2-1 win over Argentina and, despite a narrow loss to Australia in their final group tie, advanced on set percentage in a three-way tie to top Group F and book their spot in the knockout rounds.
“With the level of talent and intensity we saw last year, fans can expect even more drama and world-class tennis this summer. Don’t miss the action, it’s shaping up to be one of the most exciting United Cups yet,” Farrow added.
The tournament’s official draw will take place on Monday 17 November.
Quarter-finals, semi-finals and final tickets are on sale now. Group stage tickets will go on sale on Wednesday 19 November.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]United Cup Format and Qualification
Tickets (on sale now)
For more information, visit UnitedCup.com and follow @UnitedCupTennis on social media.
Patrick Kypson grew up playing tennis on clay courts in North Carolina, a unique education for an American player, but one that has paid dividends throughout his career. His first four professional singles titles all came on the natural surface, as did his lone pro doubles trophy — a Futures title he won with Felix Auger-Aliassime in 2016.
But it was on a hard court that he won the biggest title of his career this Sunday, two days before his 26th birthday. In a thrilling final at the MarketBeat Open, an ATP Challenger 100 and USTA Pro Circuit event in Sioux Falls, Kypson earned a 6-7(2), 7-6(4), 7-5 victory against Johannus Monday, saving all six break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
The trophy is his third on the ATP Challenger Tour this season and his sixth since the start of 2023. It was also a record 20th Challenger title won by an American this season, breaking the previous high of 19 in 2006.
The triumph moved Kypson up to world No. 146, 13 spots off his career-high PIF ATP Ranking from last April, and lifted him into first place in the USTA’s Australian Open Wild Card Challenge.
By committing to an attacking game plan, Kypson has developed a game that can threaten opponents on any surface.
“My tennis, I just want to continue to try and build my game around being aggressive and looking to get forward as much as I can and just continue to develop those skills in matches,” he said. “I’ve made a huge decision or commitment to playing a certain way and just trying to hold onto that, my identity as a player, and just judge myself on how well I’m executing on that each day, each practice and each match.”
While Kypson credits his clay-court upbringing with teaching him point construction, rally tolerance and movement, he has made a conscious effort to impose his tennis on opponents this season.
“I think [growing up on clay] kind of contributed to my original game style, which actually is kind of what I’m trying to transition out of and be a little bit more aggressive and come forward more,” he explained. “But it definitely gives me a really good base from the baseline with what I would like to think pretty good movement and fundamentals, so I think it was definitely a positive growing up on the clay for sure.”
Another big part of Kypson’s education — both on the court and in the classroom — came in his year at Texas A&M, where he was an All-American and the ITA National Rookie of the Year in 2018. At College Station, he roomed with current Top 30 player Arthur Rinderknech and was also teammates with Valentin Vacherot.
Those two players, who happen to be cousins, recently squared off in the Rolex Shanghai Masters final, with Vacherot stunning the tennis world—and their group chat of former A&M teammates—by winning the title with a ranking of No. 204. For Kypson, Vacherot’s success is further proof of just how high the level is on the ATP Challenger Tour and the USTA Pro Circuit.
“I think the margins are as slim as they’ve ever been, in terms of level differential between consistent Challenger players and consistent tour-level players. But definitely, you know, those guys [on the ATP Tour] are able to do it slightly more consistently I would say. There’s a reason they’re on the tour and Challenger guys are in the Challenger level. I think it’s slim margins, but that consistency is one of the things I think is the differential.
“There’s so many examples,” he continued, discussing the success of Challenger players at the next level. “[Vacherot] was obviously an extreme example of a guy that has been primarily on the Challenger Tour and goes and wins a Masters 1000… but for sure seeing guys that I’ve competed with for a long time, seeing them have some runs definitely can motivate me to get up there with them and keep improving.”
With a focus on attacking and an emphasis on competing hard every point, Kypson feels his game is more complete than ever, with a Top 100 breakthrough in sight.
“I think I’ve developed my skills more so than when I was at my career high,” he said. “I know what I have to improve on and what I’m doing well, so I’m just trying to keep doubling down on those things and, you know, with that the ranking and the points take care of itself as much as it can, which is obviously easier said than done. But that’s my goal.”
Editor’s Note: This story originally ran on USTA.com.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Taylor Fritz will return to the Nitto ATP Finals one year after reaching the championship match at the season finale.
The American qualified for the year-end championships on Wednesday when Lorenzo Musetti fell at the Rolex Paris Masters. Fritz joins Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic in the field.
Last year, Fritz defeated former champions Daniil Medvedev and Zverev en route to the final before Sinner beat him for the trophy. This will be the 27-year-old’s third appearance in the Nitto ATP Finals, where he has advanced through round-robin action in his first two showings.
Fritz made a good start to his season at the United Cup, where he led the United States to the trophy, and he has not looked back. The 10-time ATP Tour titlist lifted trophies in Stuttgart in Eastbourme, making this the fourth consecutive year in which he has claimed multiple titles.
Fritz also made the semi-finals at Wimbledon for the first time and later reached the Tokyo final. Other standout results include his semi-final runs in Miami and Toronto.
Three singles spots remain at the Nitto ATP Finals, which will take place at Inalpi Arena in Turin from 9-16 November. Ben Shelton is currently sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, with Alex de Minaur seventh and Musetti in eighth. Ninth-placed Felix Auger-Aliassime trails Musetti by 390 points.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Valentin Vacherot comes from behind to defeat his cousin Arthur Rinderknech for the second time in the space of three weeks at the Paris Masters.
A different European city, a different indoor arena, but a very familiar march to victory for Jannik Sinner.
Just four days after he lifted an ATP 500 crown in Vienna, the No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings kick-started his Rolex Paris Masters title bid with a commanding 6-4, 6-2 triumph against Zizou Bergs. Sinner produced a typically assured all-around performance to overwhelm his Belgian opponent in the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting and extend his tour-level winning streak on indoor hard courts to 22 matches.
The Streak Continues! 👏@janniksin extends his winning streak to 22 matches on indoor hard courts with a straight sets win over Bergs in Paris#RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/4ArpltcFrK
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 29, 2025
The signs of struggle for Bergs were evident early at La Défense Arena, where he fended off four break points but was still unable to deny Sinner a break of serve in a 12-minute opening game. That was enough to set the Italian on his way to the first set and another break in the first game of the second set also proved decisive.
The second-seeded Sinner was authoritative behind his own serve throughout the match. He did not face a break point and won 77 per cent (24/31) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to setting a third-round meeting with Francisco Cerundolo. The Argentine earlier overcame Miomir Kecmanovic 7-5, 1-6, 7-6(4).
With his 88-minute win against Bergs, Sinner kept alive his hopes of capitalising on Carlos Alcaraz’s early Paris loss in the battle for World No. 1: The Italian can return to top spot next Monday if he can lift his first Masters 1000 title of the season.
“I felt like mostly the movement [was good],” said Sinner. “It’s a very unique court here. Usually I always struggled a bit, so I’m very happy to come through the first match. I’m very happy how I served today. I was very precise, and I also started off with a break straight away, which gives you a bit more confidence. I’m very happy about today’s performance.”
Sinner’s straightforward victory was in stark contrast to the opening match of the day on Court Central. In a rematch of the Rolex Shanghai Masters final from earlier this month, Valentin Vacherot again overcame his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in a three-set battle to extend his Masters 1000 winning streak to nine matches.
“Arthur plays very well right now. It wasn’t easy from beginning to the end,” said Vacherot, who is up three spots to No. 37 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings after reaching the third round on his Paris debut. “[It was not easy]. I had a lot of errors as well today. Not everything was perfect.
“Had I won in straight sets 6-1, 6-2, it would have been a different story but it’s not the case. But I have a lot of confidence in myself, that’s for sure.”
Watch Highlights Of Vacherot & Rinderknech’s Paris Rematch
Vacherot will take on Alcaraz’s conqueror, Cameron Norrie for a quarter-final berth in Paris. Daniil Medvedev also advanced on Wednesday after his second-round opponent, Grigor Dimitrov, was forced to withdraw before their match due to a right shoulder injury.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]The 2025 Nitto ATP Finals remain on Felix Auger-Aliassime’s radar, but only just.
With his hopes of reaching the prestigious season finale hanging by a thread on Wednesday at the Rolex Paris Masters, the Canadian rallied to a nail-biting 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-6(4) win against Alexandre Muller to stay in the Turin hunt.
Watch Auger-Aliassime’s Magic Moment To Kick-start Paris Comeback:
Auger-Aliassime stepped on court at Paris’ La Défense Arena knowing that a second-round exit to home favourite Muller at the indoor ATP Masters 1000 would end his hopes of a top-eight finish in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. The ninth seed soon found himself a set and a break down, but he was able to hold on for a crucial victory despite delivering a wildly inconsistent display overall.
The 25-year-old Auger-Aliassime fired 50 winners, including 21 aces, but his efforts were undermined by his 55 unforced errors. In contrast, Muller struck 20 winners and made just 24 unforced errors, but the World No. 44 was unable to find a path to victory after letting slip a 2-0, 40/30 lead in the second set.
Auger-Aliassime missed a match point on return at 6-5, 30/40 in the deciding set but later won seven of the final eight points of the match to recover from 0/3 in the deciding-set tie-break and seal his three-hour, five-minute triumph. With his Tour-leading 80th indoor win this decade, the Canadian moved within 390 points of eight-placed Lorenzo Musetti in the Live Race.
Auger-Aliassime will next aim to maintain the pressure on Italy’s Musetti when he takes on Daniel Altmaier in the third round. Altmaier earlier ended the Nitto ATP Finals qualification hopes of 11th-placed Casper Ruud with a 6-3, 7-5 upset.
Defending champion Alexander Zverev was also forced to dig deep to book his third-round spot. The German rallied past Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-7(5), 6-1, 7-5 to extend his Rolex Paris Masters winning streak to six matches and improve to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with the Argentine.
Watch Highlights Of Zverev’s Hard-earned Paris Win
“Definitely [a good win],” said Zverev, who was competing just four days after his Vienna championship-match defeat to Jannik Sinner, in his post-match interview. “Especially after a tough [loss] last week. To come out here, and I didn’t expect him to play the way he did, to be perfectly honest.
“It’s something I have to learn from. I played him in Rome, and he was nowhere near that level. That’s a mistake from me. I have to prepare better for my opponents, but he was fantastic today.”
Zverev leapfrogged Novak Djokovic into third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin as a result of his two-hour, 36-minute triumph against Ugo Carabelli. Already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, he will next take on 15th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who downed home wild card Arthur Cazaux 7-6(5), 6-4, in the French capital.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]It all started as a simple idea. Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz and Lorenzo Musetti had been grinding through the ATP Tour season, chasing PIF ATP Rankings points, trophies and sleep in equal measure.
Somewhere between a training block and a long-haul flight, a thought struck De Minaur: what if someone else could handle press conferences, photoshoots and fan content — so we could stay focused on the tennis?
Enter: the puppets.
#TheHandover: How it all started…
At first, the plan seemed foolproof. The handmade doubles of the trio — complete with miniature racquets, finely stitched hair, and a surprising amount of attitude — were brought to lighten the load. The players could train; the puppets could perform. Simple. Effective. Genius, even.
It all began at the Rolex Paris Masters. But as the cameras rolled, something unexpected happened. The puppets weren’t content to be background characters. They started improvising, talking back, and they were so realistic that they started stealing the spotlight.
The puppets meet in Paris. Photo: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Still, in classic ATP Tour fashion, everyone’s taking it in stride.
The Handover has become the latest must-watch social series. Stay tuned on the ATP Tour’s Instagram account to find out who is really running the show.
The puppets aren’t saying much, though they’ll see you on Tour.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Grigor Dimitrov’s return to action this week at the Rolex Paris Masters was sweet, but sadly cut short when he withdrew from his second-round clash with Daniil Medvedev on Wednesday afternoon.
The 34-year-old Bulgarian, who was sidelined for three months due to a pectoral injury, made a winning return on Monday against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. But, ahead of his 12th Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Medvedev (8-3 Medvedev), Dimitrov withdrew due to a shoulder injury.
In the fourth round at Wimbledon in July, Dimitrov led then-World No. 1 Jannik Sinner by two sets to love when he felt a sudden pain in his pectoral muscle and was forced to retire. It marked his fifth consecutive exit at a major through retirement.
The former No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, Dimitrov spent three months on the sidelines before his long-awaited return to Paris, where he reached the final in 2023. On Tuesday evening, he accompanied Nicolas Mahut on the doubles court in the Frenchman’s final match of his career.
However, Dimitrov was unable to return to singles action on Wednesday. Instead the match between Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Arthur Cazaux has been upgraded from Court 2 to Court 1.
Into the third round in Paris for the first time since reaching the final in 2021, Medvedev will next face Lorenzo Musetti or Lorenzo Sonego.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]