Tennis: Djokovic, Swiatek headline United Cup team event ahead of Australian Open

Sydney, Oct 20 (IANS) Grand Slam giants Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek will headline a stellar field at the new-look United Cup mixed team event in Perth and Sydney from December 29, 2023 to January 7, 2024.

Five of the world’s top 10 women and nine of the world’s top 20 men will feature at the exciting innovative mixed-team event in 2024, with the draw to be revealed on October 23, the tournament organisers said.

Team Poland, led by four-time major champion Swiatek and 11th-ranked Hubert Hurkacz, have been named as the top seeds for the 2024 edition after the entries from the top 16 countries were confirmed.

Top-10 stars Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari will lead No.2-seeded Greece, while defending champions United States – represented by world No.4 Jessica Pegula and 10th-ranked Taylor Fritz – are seeded third.

France, the No.4 seeds, will be steered by world No.10 Caroline Garcia and Adrian Mannarino.

Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova will headline the Czech Republic team alongside Jiri Lehecka, while Croatia rounds out the top six seeds, a team featuring Borna Coric and Donna Vekic.

Host nation Australia is represented by top Aussie Alex de Minaur – a player on the brink of the top 10 – plus three-time major quarterfinalist Ajla Tomljanovic, doubles stars Storm Hunter, Matt Ebden and Ellen Perez, and former world No.33 John Millman.

Four countries will make their debut in 2024, including Serbia, who is led by 24-time major champion and current world No.1 Djokovic. He will be joined in the team by rising star Olga Danilovic.

Canada debuts with exciting young stars Felix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Fernandez, while China does the same with Asian Games champions Zheng Qinwen and Zhang Zhizhen, both making a big impact on tour in 2023. Netherlands is represented by Tallon Griekspoor and Arantxa Rus.

Other standout entries include Norway’s world No.8 Casper Ruud, German stars Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber, and Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie and Katie Boulter

The top five WTA ranking-qualified countries, top five ATP ranking-qualified countries and the top six combined entry countries have been admitted to the competition. The final two remaining countries (one WTA and one ATP) will be admitted to the competition on Monday 20 November, based on the rankings published on this date, the tournament release said.

The United Cup, an ATP-WTA event presented in partnership with Tennis Australia, offers a minimum of AUD $15 million in prize money and 500 ATP and 500 WTA Tour rankings points.

Eighteen countries will contest the second edition with each city to host nine teams - three more than 2023. Each team will comprise up to three men and three women.

Countries will be drawn into six groups of three countries and will compete in a round-robin format.

New for 2024, each tie will be determined in one session and will include one men’s singles and one women’s singles match featuring the No.1 ranked singles players, followed by one mixed doubles match.

Perth’s RAC Arena will host the first day of the United Cup on December 29, with the group stage in Sydney beginning on December 30.