“We would love Jannik and Carlos and of course Novak to come back" - United Cup tournament director discloses discussions on bringing Sinner, Alcaraz, and Djokovic to 2026 event

As the 2025 season is nearing its conclusion, the 2026 campaign is almost upon us. This will kick off with the United Cup in Australia, with tournament director Stephen Farrow hopeful that the best players in the world will once again compete for their country, with conversations about Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic occurring.

The 2026 United Cup will commence on the 2nd January, as players ramp up their preparations ahead of the first Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne. This is the only mixed event on the calendar in which ranking points are on offer.

Sydney and Perth will once more be the two locations of the competition, each hosting three groups made up of three countries. For each round-robin tie, consisting of one men's single, one women's single and a mixed doubles clash. The six group winners and two runners-up will then advance to the quarter-finals stage, where it is then a knockout competition.

USA backed up their 2023 victory with another triumph down under last year. Taylor Fritz and Coco Gauff carried their country through the group stage with little fuss, before calling on the help of doubles duo Robert Galloway and Desirae Krawczyk to defeat China in the quarter-finals. They swept aside Czechia in the semi-final before fritz and Gauff turned up the heat in the final as they defeated Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Swiatek respectively to clinch the title.

The three biggest tennis players on the ATP circuit did not feature in last year's event. Flavio Cobolli represented Italy, Pablo Carreno Busta competed for Spain, while Serbia did not even feature. That could all change this year, with Farrow hoping for the best players in the world to compete.

The world number one and two have never featured in the event, but Djokovic has back in 2024. He endured a memorable moment with the fans as they counted down to New Year's Day. Djokovic had just represented his country in knocking out China with fellow countrywomen Olga Danilovic. He would go on to help Serbia take down Czechia to confirm top spot, but they were halted in their tracks by a rampant Australia team in the quarter-final stage.

“It’s an ongoing conversation at the minute. We want all the best players in the world to play,” he said in an interview with The West Australian. “We would love Jannik and Carlos and of course Novak to come back. When Novak played here two years ago in Perth, it was so memorable, particularly when he played on that New Year’s Eve and then counted down to New Year with the crowd afterwards.

“One thing is for sure; we know we’re going to get a lot of top players playing, and we’ve consistently shown that throughout the history of the competition. We know there are plenty of other top players who are going to play that we’re not quite ready to announce just yet.”

While their participation in the event is left unknown, Australian number one Alex de Minaur is looking likely to return in 2026. He gave the home crowd a lot to cheer about in 2024, defeating both Djokovic and Fritz in straight sets. While 2025 may have not gone the way he would have hoped, Farrow is hoping that the world number seven can find his best game once more.

“Alex has given so much to this event. If you look at last year, when Australia didn’t make it through the group stage, his energy and commitment to the event is something else,” he said. “He’s been fantastic and a real star of this competition, and hopefully 2026 will be no different.”