SYDNEY — Top seed the United States will face neighbor Canada in the group stage when Coco Gauff makes her debut in the third edition of the United Cup mixed team tournament in Sydney and Perth at the start of next season.
World No. 3 Gauff will be joined on the U.S. team by Taylor Fritz, Denis Kudla, Robert Galloway, Desirae Krawczyk and Danielle Collins, who recently backtracked on her decision to retire at the end of the 2024 season.
At Monday’s draw, the Americans also were pitted against an as-yet-undecided nation in Group A, which will be played out in Perth.
The 17th and 18th teams will be decided based on the rankings of Nov. 19, but organizers confirmed Serbia’s Novak Djokovic has decided not to make the tournament part of his preparations for an attempt at an 11th Australian Open title.
Reigning champion Germany, which will be spearheaded by world No. 3 Alexander Zverev, will face China, which features Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng, and Brazil in Group E, also in Perth.
Zverev looks set to be the highest-ranked man in the tournament in the absence of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, while world No. 5 Daniil Medvedev‘s Russia remains barred by sanctions put in place after the invasion of Ukraine.
Belarus is excluded for the same reason, so Australian and US Open winner Aryna Sabalenka will be absent, but five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek headlines a strong Polish team also featuring Hubert Hurkacz.
Poland, runner-up last year, will play its Group B matches against the Czech Republic and Norway in Sydney.
“I think this year’s entry list is probably the strongest overall that we’ve seen in the three years of the competition,” tournament director Stephen Farrow said.
“We’ve got six of the seven of the top 10 players in the world on the women’s side, six of the top 12 on the men’s side. And it is going to be an absolutely brilliant competition.”
Host Australia, spearheaded by Alex De Minaur, will play its Group F matches in Sydney against Britain and the other as-yet-undecided nation.
The tournament starts Dec. 27, with the final in Sydney on Jan. 5.
Draw:
Group A – U.S., Canada, To Be Decided
Group B – Poland, Czech Republic, Norway
Group C – Greece, Kazakhstan, Spain
Group D – Italy, France, Switzerland
Group E – China, Germany, Brazil
Group F – Britain, Australia, To Be Decided
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at www.espn.com – TENNIS…