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The Australian Open build-up will have a new tournament starting in 2023 - the United Cup. The new multi-nation tournament will see both the men's and women's tours come together to compete for the title in Australia for the first time since the Hopman Cup ended in 2019.
The United Cup will comprise 18 countries/teams and will be the season's first tournament, starting with the inaugural edition on Thursday, December 29, 2022 and ending on Sunday, January 8, 2023. Matches will be played in Brisbane, Perth, and Sydney.
The tournament will carry 500 ranking points each for ATP and WTA players, along with a total prize money pool of USD $15 million. The United Cup replaces the ATP Cup, which saw only male players competing in the pre-Australian Open event.
The ATP Cup only provided a chance for the men's tour to represent their country in a team event while also preparing for the Australian Open by playing in similar conditions, but the new event comes as an upgrade on the same, also giving the women's tour another tournament in the build-up to the first Grand Slam of the season. Each team will have four men and four women.
What is the qualification criteria and format for United Cup 2023?
A total of 18 teams will battle it out for the title. 12 of those countries will qualify through the six highest-ranked male players in the ATP rankings and six highest-ranked female players in the WTA rankings. The remaining six countries will qualify based on the best combined rankings of the top-ranked male and female players from the same country. Host-nation Australia will get automatic entry to play in the tournament, through either ranking or a wilcard.
Each tie in the new multi-nation tournament will have two men's singles, two women's singles, and one mixed doubles match. The 18 teams will be divided into six groups of three teams each. Each of the three cities will see two of the six groups competing as the tournament kicks off in a round-robin format.
The winners of the two groups in each city will face each other in Host City Finals for a direct semifinal spot, which means three semifinal spots will be sealed that way. The last semifinal spot will be taken by the losing finalist from all Host City Finals that has the best overall record compared to the others, including round-robin matches.
The semifinals and final of the 2023 United Cup will be played in Sydney (January 6-8).
The tournament will have morning and evening sessions. The morning session will comprise two matches - men's singles and women's singles. The evening session will feature three matches - men's singles, women's singles, and mixed doubles.
No teams from Russia and Belarus in United Cup 2023
Russian and Belarusian players will not compete in the inaugural edition of the 2023 United Cup as they are not allowed to represent their respective countries, in light of the ongoing war in Ukraine. However, players from both countries can compete under a neutral flag in other ATP/WTA events going on in Australia during the same time.
The 2023 Adelaide International will have both ATP and WTA events, with players from Russia and Belarus, the likes of Daniil Medvedev, Aryna Sabalenka, Andrey Rublev, and Daria Kasatkina, to name a few, able to compete there. The ATP and WTA Auckland Open will also be held that same week.
