The United Cup will kickstart the 2024 for the WTA and the ATP tours. The team tournament will see 18 countries battle it out to win the trophy and begin their season on a high note.
The United Cup will begin on December 29, 2023, and run through January 7, 2024, in Perth and Sydney. It is the only mixed event to offer ranking points to all athletes, depending on wins and opponent rankings. A player can earn a maximum of 500 points in the tournament.
18 teams, usually consisting of six players, are split into six groups of three each. Groups A, C, and E will play round-robin games in Perth. Meanwhile, Groups B, D, and F will battle it out in Sydney. The winners of each group will advance to the quarter-finals, along with the best-performing runner-up from either city leg. Sydney will also host the semi-finals and the finals.
Qualification for the tournament depended on the rankings of the best available singles player. Six countries qualified based on the ATP ranking of the nation’s highest-ranked male player, subject to tournament commitment. Similarly, six countries each entered based on the WTA rankings of their best female player and combined rankings of their best male and female players.
The United Cup has a whopping $10 million collective prize pool. Each player is guaranteed a participation fee depending on their ATP/WTA ranking and their national ranking. This amount ranges from $200,000 for the ATP/WTA top 10, to $6,000 for a player who is outside the top 250 in World Rankings and third-best in his country.
Teams and players will receive prize money for each triumph. Winning a group stage match is worth $38,325 for singles and $7,200 for mixed doubles and clinching the tie gets the team $5,000. In the final, singles winners will earn $251,000, mixed doubles winners $47,255, and the winning team will get $23,155.
2024 United Cup groups and new format
Spain and Brazil kick off the 2024 United Cup on December 29. Defending champions USA, meanwhile, find themselves in a tough group with Great Britain and hosts Australia. Novak Djokovic and Serbia also mark their debut in the tournament. Iga Swiatek, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz and Jessica Pegula are some other big names who will take to the court. However, players like Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, and Daniil Medvedev will be missing from action.
Each matchday will have two sessions, morning and evening. The first session is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. ET whereas the second will be at 4:00 a.m. ET. Each tie will have two singles matches, one men’s and one women’s each, followed by a mixed doubles fixture. Last year, each tie had two men’s and women’s singles each. The group division is as follows:-
- Group A – Poland, Spain, Brazil
- Group B – Greece, Canada, Chile
- Group C – USA, Australia, Great Britain
- Group D – France, Italy, Germany
- Group E – Czechia, China, Serbia
- Group F – Croatia, Netherlands, Norway
The complete day-to-day schedule is available on United Cup’s official website.
