United Cup 2026 prize money explained: How much can Swiatek, Gauff and Zverev earn

The United Cup is set to commence what is an eagerly awaited 2026 tennis season. It will take place in Australia from January 2-11 with a number of the best players in the world competing for glory.

It is a great chance for players to represent their country at the highest level. It is similar to the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup, but mixed with men's and women's singles and doubles action on offer. There are also ranking points up for grabs with players looking to capitalise on this golden opportunity.

Last year's champions the USA have won the event twice since its rebranding to the United Cup. Last year, they had a high calibre lineup of Taylor Fritz and Coco Gauff who took them to victory with some very commendable displays. In total they took home 500 points last year for winning the event, which now come off have seen Gauff drop out of the top three in the rankings. The 21-year-old will be hoping to re-coup those points and regain her position in the rankings.

Runners-up Poland will also be fielding the same team with six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz will be taking to the stage looking to go one step further from their final defeats two years on the spin.

There are also a whole host of other nations looking to compete for glory. The number two seeds Canada are sending out a very strong team with Felix Auger-Aliassime partnering debutant Victoria Mboko who is looking to continue her incredible form from a fantastic rise in 2025 to join the world's best. The hosts also have title ambitions. Similar to Canada, the senior Alex de Minaur will be partnered with a young debutant in the form of two-time WTA title winner Maya Joint. They will be looking to put on a show for the home crowd.

Great Britain's title ambitions have been severely dented with the absence of Jack Draper, who will miss the start of the season with his arm injury still not fully healed. They will still have Emma Raducanu in their wings, who is set to face off against Naomi Osaka in a highly anticipated group matchup.

The 2024 champions Germany have the world number three on their team. Alexander Zverev will be hoping to lead his country to glory. If prior tournaments similar to this mean anything, Italy are up there as one of the favourites. Jasmine Paolini and Flavio Cobolli both shared their credentials in Italy's triumphant runs at the 2025 Davis Cup Finals and Billie Jean King Cup Finals.

The prize money and ranking points are done slightly differently from a standard ATP or WTA tournament. In total, there is a prize pool of $11,806,190 to be collected. It is split fairly between both ATP and WTA Tour, with $5,903,345 on offer to both. It is yet to be confirmed the breakdown in prize money for the tournament, with that imminent. Each player's prize money is solely dependant on ranging participation fees, per team wins, and per prize money available per individual match.

In total, a maximum of 500 ranking points is the most that can be won by any team. This is dependent on two things: how many matches won and their opponent's ranking. This differs from the standard way of handing out points on the ATP and WTA Tours, with a certain number of points on offer at each round. For example, the most points you can win is if you defeat a top 10 player, with it varying from round-to-round. In the final, you can earn 180 points for this with a group win against a ranked 1-10 player yielding you 55 points. Mixed doubles do not offer any points out.