Launching the Tennis Season, the United Cup 2024 sets the stage for a year of thrilling matches!
After a well-deserved Christmas break, we ease into the new year with the United Cup in Perth and Sydney, a mixed-teams event that had its inaugural championship in January 2023. USA claimed the first-ever title then, and we have eighteen teams vying for the position this year. The countries qualify based on the ATP/ WTA rankings of their number-one singles players. A notable absentee is Russia, which has two top-five ATP-ranked players along with several ranked within the WTA top 25. However, both Russia and Belarus are still prohibited from taking part in the United Cup — a ban put in place last year.
That said, the countries qualified for 2024 are Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Spain and USA. They will be split between the two cities, with three groups of three teams each in both locations.
The introduction of this mixed-team competition does wonders for the game. Tennis, though a social game, can be isolating as individuals or pairs are pitted against each other to reach for a single coveted spot. While there have been elements of the tribe mentality with players and spectators alike in traditional team sports, with healthy team leadership, the comradeship, and bond that we saw develop between players and the audience last year cannot be dismissed. We will be looking forward to seeing the team spirit thrive in the new year.
The United Cup 2024 starts on the 29th of December 2023, with Spain vs. Brazil kicking off in Perth, followed by Great Britain vs. Australia. But who will make it to the main draw and take the 2024 title?
The change of hands from Amazon to Sky Sports means everyone is scrabbling to figure out the best way to watch tennis in 2024, but a how-to-watch guide for the United Cup can be found here.
