Nadal, Swiatek To Lead Countries At United Cup

A star-studded field has been named for the inaugural United Cup, an annual mixed team event set to be played in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney from Thursday 29 December to Sunday 8 January 2023.

Entries from the top 16 countries have been announced today, with Team Greece, led by world No.3 Stefanos Tsitsipas and [6] Maria Sakkari named as the top seeds.

World No.1 Iga Swiatek and [11] Hubert Hurkacz will lead No.2-seeded Poland, with third seeded United States featuring a wealth of talent, including world No.3 Jessica Pegula, ninth-ranked Taylor Fritz, world No.11 Madison Keys and the charismatic showman, world No.19 Frances Tiafoe.

The legendary Rafael Nadal will team up with world No.13 Paula Badosa to fly the flag for Spain, while emerging tennis powerhouse Italy will star world No.16 Matteo Berrettini and Martina Trevisan.

France rounds out the top six seeds, led by WTA Finals winner and world No.4 Caroline Garcia and Arthur Rinderknech.

Nick Kyrgios, Ajla Tomljanovic and Alex de Minaur will don the green and gold to represent Australia. Other notable entries include Norway’s world No.4 Casper Ruud, Germany’s Alexander Zverev and Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic and Stan Wawrinka, along with Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic. The top six WTA ranking-qualified countries, top five ATP ranking-qualified countries and the top five combined entry countries have been admitted to the competition.

The final two remaining countries (one ATP and one combined entry) will be admitted to the competition on Monday 21 November, based on the rankings published on this date.

ATP 3 448 866 159*	GREECE Stefanos Tsitsipas Michail Pervolarakis Stefanos Sakellaridis Petros Tsitsipas	WTA 6 156 200 249*	Maria Sakkari Despina Papamichail Valentini Grammatikopoulou Sapfo Sakellaridi
11 82 244 P24*	POLAND Hubert Hurkacz Kamil Majchrzak Daniel Michalski Lukasz Kubot	1 49 249 34*	Iga Swiatek Magda Linette Weronika Falkowska Alicja Rosolska
9 19 104 83*	USA Taylor Fritz Frances Tiafoe Denis Kudla Hunter Reese	3 11 118 16*	Jessica Pegula Madison Keys Alycia Parks Desirae Krawczyk
2 13 39 31*	SPAIN Rafael Nadal Pablo Carreno Busta Albert Ramos-Vinolas David Vega Hernandez	13 72 206	Paula Badosa Nuria Parrizas Diaz Jessica Bouzas Maneiro
16 23 176 113*	ITALY Matteo Berrettini Lorenzo Musetti Andrea Vavassori Marco Bortolotti	28 56 230 267	Martina Trevisan Lucia Bronzetti Camila Rosatello Nuria Brancaccio
44 48 135 32*	FRANCE Arthur Rinderknech Adrian Mannarino Manuel Guinard Edouard Roger-Vasselin	4 36 125 103*	Caroline Garcia Alize Cornet Leolia Jeanjean Jessika Ponchet
22 24 105 38*	AUSTRALIA Nick Kyrgios Alex de Minaur Jason Kubler John Peers	33 P142 177 113*	Ajla Tomljanovic Zoe Hives Maddison Inglis Samantha Stosur
26 145 P386	CROATIA Borna Coric Borna Gojo Matija Pecotic	39 69 187 194	Petra Martic Donna Vekic Tara Wurth Petra Marcinko
P22 58 111 170	SWITZERLAND Stan Wawrinka Marc-Andrea Huesler Dominic Stricker Alexander Ritschard	12 35 152 186	Belinda Bencic Jil Teichmann Ylena In-Albon Joanne Zuger
P2 59 80 107*	GERMANY Alexander Zverev Oscar Otte Daniel Altmaier Fabian Fallert	P57 61 145 144*	Laura Siegemund Jule Niemeier Anna-Lena Friedsam Julia Lohoff
65 164 199 28*	BRAZIL Thiago Monteiro Felipe Meligeni Alves Matheus Pucinelli de Almeida Rafael Matos	15 114 199 55*	Beatriz Haddad Maia Laura Pigossi Carolina Alves Luisa Stefani
53 138 191 162*	BELGIUM David Goffin Zizou Bergs Kimmer Coppejans Michael Geerts	29 54 239 30*	Elise Mertens Alison Van Uytvanck Magali Kempen Kirsten Flipkens
74 117 206 207	CZECH REPUBLIC Jiri Lehecka Tomas Machac Lukas Rosol Dalibor Svrcina	16 26 309	Petra Kivitova Marie Bouzkova Jesika Maleckova
14 27 265 92*	GREAT BRITAIN Cameron Norrie Daniel Evans Jan Choinski Jonny O’Mara	98 121 376 J22	Harriet Dart Katie Swan Anna Brogan Ella McDonald
25 30 68 37*	ARGENTINA Diego Schwartzman Francisco Cerundolo Federico Coria Andres Molteni	P39 161 184	Nadia Podoroska Maria Carle Paula Ormaechea
4 333 1264	NORWAY Casper Ruud Viktor Durasovic Andreja Petrovic	375 394 759	Ulrikke Eikeri Malene Helgo Lilly Haseth

P= Protected ranking, J= Junior ranking, *= Doubles ranking

“The playing group is very excited about the United Cup, and that’s confirmed in the high quality and calibre of those who’ve committed to the event. We are delighted with the depth and breadth of the teams, and we can look forward to many exciting match ups and lots of entertaining tennis,” United Cup Tournament Director Stephen Farrow said.

“The United Cup also marks the return of international tennis to Brisbane and Perth and we know the fans can’t wait to soak up all the action. All three cities will relish the opportunity to see the world’s best players unite and compete side by side as we launch the tennis season globally here in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney.”

Ross Hutchins, ATP Chief Tour Officer, said: “The stage is set for an incredible first edition of United Cup. This event is a big statement for our sport, bringing the best of men’s and women’s players together as teammates. Today’s draw highlights the compelling competition, matchups, and storylines our fans can look forward to as we kick off the 2023 season.”

The United Cup, an ATP-WTA event presented in partnership with Tennis Australia, offers USD $15 million in prize money and up to 500 Pepperstone ATP Rankings and 500 WTA Rankings points.

Brisbane, Perth and Sydney will each host two groups of three countries competing in a round-robin format from 29 December to 4 January. Each tie comprises two men’s and two women’s singles matches and one mixed doubles match.

The winners of each group will play off, with the city winners advancing to the United Cup Final Four in Sydney to be played from 6 to 8 January. The next best performing team from the group stages will complete the quartet.

Today the official draw will reveal the city where each team will play this summer. Watch the draw live from 2.00pm AEDT on the United Cup Facebook page.

Note: Player participation is subject to change.

from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/4YPBXtG