The United Cup is coming to kickstart the 2023 tennis season
Offering a “lottery” prize fund of $15 million, this captivating cup will open the new tennis season directly before the Australian Open.
This new event, called “United Cup”, includes 18 countries who will start competing on December 29th, and go right through into the New Year, playing the final matches on January 8th, only a week or so before the opening of the Australian Open in Melbourne.
The host country Australia has a reserved spot and will be playing in the opening matches, giving way to the rest of the tournament that will include four matches in singles and one in mixed doubles. Every nation will have four women and four men, who will be competing for 500 WTA and 500 ATP points, in addition to the “juicy” $15 million. In the singles matches, there will be two between women and four between men, providing quite a spectacle for those that will be attending in Brisbane, Perth, and Sydney, and even those that will be able to check via live tennis scores, if work gets in the way of passion.
The participating nations will be seeded by their WTA and ATP rankings, and the winners of the group stages will be included in the final-four playoff, to be played in Sydney from January 6 to 8. The first 12 nations qualified for this tournament will gain entry via the six highest-ranking No.1 players that enter, on either the ATP or WTA. The six remaining nations will enter thanks to the combined ranking of their best women’s and men’s players.
A great way to limber up
Besides the great competition between some of the best tennis players in the world, some of the greatest, like Britain’s own Andy Murray, also add that this cup will show that “We’re the only global sport where men and women compete at the same venues, which is something very special about our sport and something to be celebrated. Big events like this will help. And he added: “I’m sure all the players will be very passionate about competing for their countries, and the men and women will work together to support each other.”
In the same vein, ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said: “The United Cup marks a major step forward for the game of tennis. Most importantly, it will create an incredible new experience for our fans. We’re excited to see the best men’s and women’s players competing together, with ranking points on the line, to launch the season like never before.
It will end up being a great opportunity for these experienced players to “limber-up” a bit and start the new season not being as green as some expect. The fact that there are points and money in play will make this even more exciting than regular tournaments, since it adds the competitive dimension of points but also a great deal of money that players will see as a great motivation.
For some experienced tennis players, like the current commentator, Casey Dellacqua, this event will be an “exciting opportunity for our sport. It’s the first time we’ll bring the men’s and women’s tours together for a global team event offering huge prize money and big ranking points. It’s a wonderful innovation for the game of tennis and it will be a blockbuster start to the summer of tennis. ”
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