The United Cup has offered fans and players a unique tennis experience ever since it debuted on the calendar as the opening event of the 2023 season.
The dual-tour, international mixed team event, played across multiple Australian cities, kickstarts the 2025 season in less than 10 days.
As is becoming tradition, there are more exciting innovations in store to reshape the experience.
The United Cup will see the introduction of 60-second timeouts, which can be called by players or captains during mixed doubles matches.
The captain already sits courtside during matches and players can discuss strategy and tactics during the change-of-ends.
But this gives them the ability to do so in the middle of a game – and the fact they are called with a big red buzzer adds an entertaining layer to the viewing experience.
Here’s what you need to know:
“Timeouts initiate a pause in play, it’s a time for teams to discuss tactics and strategy and potentially change the momentum of a match,” explained United Cup Tournament Director Stephen Farrow.
“We’re excited to see how the best tennis players in the world and their teams utilise this new tool.
“Innovation is at the core of everything we do at the United Cup and this is another example of leading the way and finding new ways to present the sport and engage our fans.”
Innovation has indeed been a defining feature of the event.
When the United Cup was launched in late 2022, it was the first time men and women had come together for an officially-sanctioned team tournament offering ranking points.
The inaugural event saw the group stages contested across three Australian capital cities – Brisbane, Perth and Sydney – before the best-performed teams converged on Sydney for the finals.
As players competed, their teammates sat nearby on unique on-court benches, ensuring great camaraderie, support and no shortage of viral video moments.
Things to look forward to: Our team benches 🤝 #UnitedCup pic.twitter.com/RyYF9qeWEA
— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) December 19, 2024
“Having this event — men and women, ATP and WTA combined — when you’re really playing for something, you’re playing for your country, you’re playing for points, and obviously everything that goes along with that, I think it’s fantastic,” said Sam Stosur, who served alongside Lleyton Hewitt as Team Australia co-captain in 2023.
“It’s a huge step forward for our sport, and now that it’s happening it can only get better and better.
“You never know where things could go from here on in.”
So where did it go from here?
The 2024 edition was streamlined; three host cities became two (Perth and Sydney) and ties tightened from five to three matches – a men’s singles, a women’s singles and a mixed doubles.
It meant there was a greater urgency and importance on each match, with star-studded singles matches – between the teams’ No.1 male players and No.1 female players – often setting the stage for ‘live’ mixed doubles matches to decide the tie.
This was the case in the brilliant final between Germany and Poland.
“The United Cup holds a unique position in global tennis,” Farrow commented.
“The world’s best men and women representing their country at the highest level, [in] 18 teams, featuring some of the biggest personalities in the sport, [playing] across two cities for big prize money and big ranking points.”
In 2025, those players – nine top-10 players, including five of the top six on the women’s side – and prize money will be bigger than ever.
