2023 Season Kicks off with United Cup
Tennis is back! After a few weeks of well-earned off season, the ATP and WTA Tours have restarted this week with a new event, combining both male and female players in a new, highly anticipated team event, called the United Cup. The concept of an official, non-exhibition team event is brand new and has excited a lot of tennis fans. However, the United Cup is replacing the highly popular ATP Cup, so will need to draw in large numbers of viewers to justify scrapping such a well-liked event.
The United Cup is an 18-team event, with 2 ATP and 2 WTA singles players, as well as a doubles pairing representing each team. In each tie, 5 matches are played, 4 singles and 1 doubles match, in a format very similar to the Davis Cup. The vast number of players from a vast number of countries has already resulted in some obscure names playing in high-capacity arenas, which presents a great opportunity for the players involved to play on a big stage in front of huge crowds but may detract from the entertainment value of the competition as a whole, as even the most ardent tennis fans may not be familiar with all participating players.
Nevertheless, the tournament is underway and has drawn a good amount of interest so far. There has been a plethora of matches up to this point, providing a real treat for tennis fans who have missed the action over the last few weeks. The mixed nature of the tournament changes who the favourites might be; those used to the Davis Cup and ATP Cup would usually back the likes of Spain, Australia, Great Britain and Russia, but things are a little different here. Adding WTA players into the mix makes different nations stronger: suddenly Poland are a force to be reckoned with, anchored by the dynamic duo of Hubert Hurkacz and of course Iga Swiatek, who helped Poland ease to a 4-1 victory over Kazakhstan and an early 1-0 lead over Switzerland. While nations like Poland have benefitted, the likes of Australia and Spain have perhaps been weakened by the addition of their WTA players, worsened further by the absences of key players such as Nick Kyrgios and Carlos Alcaraz.
For reasons barely worth mentioning at this stage, Russia have not been allowed to compete at the United Cup. Whatever your politics, this is a great shame from a tennis perspective, as Russia have a strong group of players who would definitely have drawn interest from tennis fans. Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev both competed at the ATP Finals last year, while Daria Kasatkina and Veronika Kudermetova are both Top 10 WTA players.
Great Britain have got off to a very strong start, largely thanks to the excellent work of Cameron Norrie, who has beaten both Alex De Minuar and Rafael Nadal this last week, helping Great Britain to a 3-2 win over Spain and a convincing 4-1 victory over Australia. The efforts of Katie Swan cannot go unnoticed, she has also won both of her matches and contributed equally to the success of the team, although Norrie beating Nadal undoubtedly turned the tide of a hotly contested tie between Great Britain and Spain. Players are selected based on their ranking, so Dan Evans is playing instead of Jack Draper, but it is a shame not to see Draper involved, as his best level is arguably much higher than Evans’, despite holding a slightly lower ranking.
Rafael Nadal has had a slow start to the year and lost again this morning to Alex De Minuar in another tight 3-set encounter, despite winning the first set, just like he did against Norrie. Nadal himself admitted that his pre-season was not up to his usual standards, having spent more time with his family after the birth of his son. Despite the two losses, there are plenty of positives to take for Nadal, who competed well and has got some vital match practise under his belt before the Australian Open, which gets underway in a couple of weeks.
Team USA have also looked very strong thus far, understandably so with the contributions of several top players like Taylor Fritz, Madison Keys, Frances Tiafoe and Jessica Pegula. The USA comfortably beat the Czech Republic 4-1 and have raced to an early 2-0 lead against Germany. Germany look considerably weaker than expected, with the returning Alexander Zverev playing well below par in 2 heavy defeats to Taylor Fritz and Jiri Lehecka. The USA, alongside Great Britain, have looked the strongest so far and will have designs on winning the whole competition. However, there is a long way to go, and there is still plenty to play for before the end of the tournament.