Preview United Cup 2026 Day One | Osaka's Japan and Tsitsipas' Greece headline action-packed opening day

The first tournament of 2026 is nearly upon us, with the new year bringing regular tennis action back to our screens. The United Cup is set to spark to life the tennis season for many of the best players in the world from January 2-11, with a very exciting opening day of action in Australia.

The United Cup is a very unique tournament. With similarities to the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup, it is a mixed event where players get the chance to not only have the prestigious honour of representing their country on the world's stage, but can challenge for much-needed ranking points. This is why it is such a popular event with many of the best players in the world turning up.

Some of the teams are very strong. USA return with their golden duo of Taylor Fritz and Coco Gauff. The pair led their country to victory in a triumphant campaign in 2025, and have high ambitions of repeating that fate. The runners-up, Poland, have succumbed to this fate two years in a row. Desperate to go one further, they can once again call on six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Switek and Hubert Hurkacz to provide the goods. World number three Alexander Zverev will fly the German flag high Down Under, while Canada and Australian field a mix of experience and youth. Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alex de Minaur will be joined by debutants Victoria Mboko and Maya Joint. Great Britain's hopes have been dealt a seismic blow with Jack Draper pulling out, with Emma Raducanu looking to steer the ship in the right direction. Italy boast their Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup heroes of Jasmine Paolini and Flavio Cobolli as they look to translate this into success.

However, all of these nations must stay patient for now as they await their opening match in the event.

The event kicks off with two Spanish speaking countries going at one another. In Perth, Spain and Argentina will look to kick off their group phase with a win in Group A. With only three teams in the group and two sets of fixtures, neither of these teams want to be on the backfoot heading into the second and final matchup. First will guarantee qualification, with second possibly getting you through.

The tournament kicks off with the world number 33 and Davis Cup finalist Jaume Munar come toe-to-toe against the world number 45 Sebastian Baez. Munar felt the full heartache of just losing out for his country in a high stakes match against Cobolli. After keeping his nation in the tournament with a key win over Jiri Lehecka, he had to repeat the same fate. Despite a lightning start, he was pegged back and broken late on, succumbing to the overwhelming pressure.

This experience will be vital for him. It could give him the extra advantage over Baez, who represents Argentina on their return to the event. A poor end to the prior campaign leaves him on a barren streak of results. He will be hoping to turn this around. They both have a win each in their prior meetings, with this one the most important.

Following this is the women's match. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro will take on Solana Sierra. The Spaniard is the world number 41, a number she will be looking to improve upon after reaching a career-high of 40 in the world back in August.

Sierra is also a player on the rise. The Argentine is currently ranked 66 in the world and is in form, winning a couple of lower titles before calling an end to her 2025 season. The highlight has to be an incredible fourth round run at Wimbledon, defeating some big names along the way. Their one and only meeting went the way of Bouzas Maneiro in an ITF tournament. This match could be crucial, with the USA also in their group. A mixed doubles matchup will be followed if the scores are level.

Now onto Group E where Japan and Greece are set to lock horns in Great Britain's group. Boosted by the Draper news, the two nations will be determined more than ever to get off on the front foot.

The women's singles event kicks this off, with Maria Sakkari taking on a resurging Naomi Osaka. The four-time Grand Slam champion is starting to find the ability she once regularly possessed on the court, making her world number one. A Canadian Open final defeat along with a US Open semi-final run proves that she is on the right track.

This is not the case for Sakkari, with the former world number three now outside the top 50. Injuries and early round exits have compounded her to a fall from grace. However, she can still get the best out of herself when representing her country against a very talented opponent. They have met five times, with Osaka boasting the slight advantage with three wins, although their last match came back in 2021.

The second contest sees Stefanos Tsitsipas come up against Shintaro Mochizuki. The Greek has endured a similar downturn in form that Sakkari has had. The two-time Grand Slam finalist has had a poor couple of years on the court by his high standards, seeing him drop right down outside of the top 30. He will attempt to avoid a huge upset against Mochizuki. He debuted in the top 100 back in November and will look to continue his progress even further to get a surprise result.