De Minaur, Draper, Raducanu join early commits for United Cup 2026
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
- The fourth edition of United Cup will be held from Friday 2 January to Sunday 11 January 2026
- The group stage in Perth (RAC Arena) runs from Friday 2 January to Tuesday 6 January. The quarter-finals in Perth will be held on Wednesday 7 January
- The group stage in Sydney (Ken Rosewall Arena) runs from Saturday 3 January to Wednesday 7 January. The quarter-finals in Sydney will be held across Thursday 8 and Friday 9 January
- Sydney will host two semi-finals on Saturday 10 January followed by the final of the United Cup from 5.30pm on Sunday 11 January
- Teams travelling from Perth to Sydney have a travel day and rest day before their semi-final matches
- Participation is subject to players committing to the event by the tournament’s entry deadline of 11 November
- At the entry deadline, ten countries will 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 will qualify according to the best combined ranking of the highest-ranked men’s and women’s players from the same country
- At the second qualification date on 17 November, if there is a player in the Top 10 (maximum 1 ATP and 1 WTA player) of the latest PIF ATP or WTA rankings who has entered and has an eligible team but has not been accepted based on their individual ATP/WTA ranking, they will be accepted, and their team will replace the lowest-ranked team with combined ranking
- Australia is guaranteed entry, either directly via ranking or as a wild card
- Each city will host nine teams each — 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 tie-break sets. Mixed doubles matches are two tie-break sets with a deciding Match Tie-break (10 point) at one set all
- Group winners in each city advance to the quarter-finals, with one quarter-final spot in each city awarded to the best runner-up in that city
- Winners will progress to the semi-finals and final to be played in Sydney
Tickets (on sale now)
- Tickets for the United Cup quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in Sydney are on sale now via Ticketmaster with tickets from $50
- Tickets for the United Cup quarter-finals in Perth are on sale now via Ticketek with tickets from $43
- Tickets to the United Cup group stages go on sale on Wednesday 19 November. Sydney group stage tickets from $40, Perth group stage tickets from $43
For more information, visit UnitedCup.com and follow @UnitedCupTennis on social media.