The benefit of a tournament with its schedule already mapped out?
We know who will play who – and at United Cup 2025, we like what we see.
Unlike knock-out tournaments, where beyond the first round we have no idea who will be playing who until match results are finalised, the United Cup’s group stage is determined well ahead of time.
That means we have six days of competition locked in at RAC Arena in Perth and Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Arena, and given the star-studded fields bound for both cities, there are thrilling match-ups to look forward to in just a matter of days.
You can check out the full schedule here. But for now, we’re sharing our five favourite singles clashes set to light up the group stages.
Where: Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney
When: Wednesday 1 January, 10.30am (AEDT)
You know it’s a must-see clash when it’s a rematch of a Grand Slam final.
In 2023, Swiatek and Muchova met in the Roland Garros decider, a brilliant three-setter that pitted two of the finest players against one another.
While currently ranked second, Swiatek has been the game’s leading player for the majority of three seasons, accumulating more than 120 weeks at world No.1.
She’s also a beast when representing her country, guiding Poland into last year’s United Cup final before winning a bronze medal in singles at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Her singles record in Billie Jean King Cup now stands at a formidable 12-2.
Muchova, despite chronic injuries, is a superstar when healthy. The Czech, a former top-10 player, contested just eight events in 2024 yet built a 21-7 record. She returned to the US Open semifinals for the second straight year, and hauled her ranking from outside the top 50 to world No.22.
Her athletic all-court game and net prowess also saw her included on this list.
Swiatek and Muchova have met three times. Every match has stretched the full three sets, and Swiatek narrowly leads the head-to-head 2-1.
Where: RAC Arena, Perth
When: Sunday 29 December, 5pm (AWST)
USA v Canada? Yes please!
Fritz enters United Cup 2025 after a magnificent season, during which he progressed to his first Grand Slam final at the US Open and peaked at world No.4.
Growing increasingly confident and more experienced with every year, the American has few weaknesses in his game; supporting an excellent serve are groundstrokes with both firepower and consistency, impressive movement for a player his size, and underrated competitive grit.
He will be favoured in this match-up against Auger-Aliassime, but don’t forget the Canadian is a former world No.6 and major semifinalist who thrives when representing his country. He led Canada to the 2022 Davis Cup title and won Olympic bronze in mixed doubles this year in Paris, plus came within one win of a singles bronze medal.
We can’t wait to see them trading huge shots in Perth in what will be their third meeting. Fritz won the previous two, but both matches required three sets.
Where: RAC Arena, Perth
When: Sunday 29 December, 5pm (AWST)
Keeping the USA v Canada theme going in Perth will be Gauff and Fernandez, the women’s singles clash in this blockbuster tie at RAC Arena.
Both are notable for their US Open exploits – Gauff was a champion in New York in 2023, two years after Fernandez stormed to the final.
Gauff enters the United Cup having won 13 of her past 15 matches, a purple match taking in prestigious titles at the China Open and the WTA Finals. She concluded 2024 at world No.3, before topping Forbes’ annual list of the world’s highest paid female athletes.
Fernandez, currently ranked No.31, is already in Australia preparing for the Summer of Tennis and told unitedcup.com she was thrilled to face Gauff in Perth.
“She finishes off the year with a [tournament] win, so that always gives a confidence boost to start the next season,” Fernandez said. “I hope that it’s going to be good for the fans, and I think it’s also good preparation for me to see where my level is at against these top players.”
Where: RAC Arena, Perth
When: Monday 30 December, 5pm (AWST)
United Cup defending champions Germany are led by Zverev, who ended an impressive 2024 season at world No.2. But Zverev confronts a player on the rise in Zhang, the Chinese men’s No.1 who also returns to the United Cup for the second straight year.
Zhang hit a career-high ranking of world No.31 in July, not long after reaching the Rome Masters quarterfinals and third round at Roland Garros. He later made a final on home soil at the ATP event in Hangzhou, his first ATP singles final appearance.
It will nevertheless be a tough ask against the German, who was a star in both singles and mixed doubles at the most recent United Cup.
Zverev won almost 70 matches plus two ATP Masters trophies in 2024, and finished runner-up at Roland Garros.
In their only previous meeting, Zverev got the better of Zhang in Hamburg five months ago.
Where: Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney
When: Sunday 29 December, 5.30pm (AEDT)
What great stories both of these players are.
Paolini emerged as a new fan favourite, combining explosive power and movement with a bubbly, energetic on-court persona to complete a season for the ages.
The Italian pocket-rocket reached back-to-back major finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, won the WTA 1000 title in Dubai, cracked the top five and won Olympic doubles gold at Paris 2024 with Sara Errani.
Her coach Renzo Furlan – who will captain Team Italy at United Cup 2025 – was awarded WTA Coach of the Year.
MORE: United Cup team captains announced
Bencic missed most of the season on maternity leave, welcoming daughter Bella into the world in April.
The Swiss, who like Paolini has a career-high ranking of world No.4, returned to competition only six weeks ago, and in just her fourth tournament she reached the WTA 125K final in Angers, France.
She’s already back inside the top 500 despite having no ranking upon her return, and her all-court game and tennis smarts will be a welcome sight back on court in Sydney.
She also takes a 2-0 head-to-head record into her meeting with Paolini.
