By Tony Fairbairn
- Cameron Norrie and Harriet Dart lead Great Britain in inaugural mixed team competition
- Great Britain will face Australia and Spain in the group stages as 18 teams look to win the title
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Cameron Norrie and Harriet Dart lead Great Britain in the United Cup as they face Australia and Spain in the group stages.
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The new tennis season is just around the corner after only finishing a month ago with Canada winning the Davis Cup. As one team competition finished the 2022 competition, a new team competition begins the 2023 season as the newly-formed United Cup takes place. The United Cup is a mixed team competition that features 18 teams in the ultimate test to see which country has the biggest depth on the ATP and WTA side.
Great Britain will get their campaign underway on the 29 December when they take on Australia and Spain in the group stages. However what is the format of the competition and who is competing in the week and a half long tournament? This is the ultimate beginners guide to the United Cup.
The Format
18 teams are competing at the United Cup and they have been split into six groups of three. The group stages are set to take place in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane with each city hosting two groups each. Each country will play each other once in their group with each tie lasting over two days.
The first day will see a men’s and women’s singles match with the second day also seeing a men’s and women’s singles match. If the tie is level then a mixed doubles match will decide who wins the tie.
After the group stage matches have been completed, the winner of each group will advance to the next phase which is the city finals. This means that the two group winners from Brisbane will face each other, the two group winners from Perth will face each other and the two group winners from Sydney will face each other.
The three winners of the city finals will progress to the final four with the final semi-final spot going to the city finalist that has the best record from its three matches. Then it will be a straight knockout to decide who wins the first edition of the United Cup with the semi-finals and finals taking place in Sydney.
When is the tournament?
The group stages take place from the 29 December 2022 – 3 January 2023, with the city finals taking place on the 4 January. There will be a day of travel on the 5 January, with the semi-finals taking place on the s6 and 7 January before the final takes place on the 8 January.
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Who is representing Great Britain?
Each team has the option to have up to eight players representing their country with Cameron Norrie and Harriet Dart leading the British team. Joining Norrie on the men’s side is Dan Evans, Jan Choinski and Jonny O’Mara. While joining Dart on the women’s side is Katie Swan, Ranah Stoiber and Ella McDonald. The team will be captained by none other than Tim Henman, who was also the captain of the ATP Cup team.
Great Britain’s group stage opponents
Great Britain will face Australia and Spain in the group stages in Sydney with Britain facing Australia on the 29th and 30th of December. They will then face Spain on the 31st of December and first of January. Australia’s team features the likes of Nick Kyrgios, Alex De Minaur and Ajla Tomljanovic. While Spain will have Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal and Paula Badosa at their disposal.
The other groups
Should Great Britain win their group, then they will play either the USA, Germany or Australia in the city final. In Perth group A will see Greece, Belgium and Bulgaria face each other with France, Croatia and Argentina battling each other in group F. Finally in Brisbane group B will see Poland take on Switzerland and Kazakhstan while Group E sees Italy face Brazil and Norway.
Group Stage Schedule
Here is the entire group stage schedule with Great Britain’s first match beginning at 8am GMT on the 29th of December against Australia:
*All times GMT
Thursday 29 December
01:00: USA v Czech Republic
03:00: Italy v Brazil
04:00: Greece v Bulgaria
08:00: Australia v Great Britain
09:00: Switzerland v Kazakhstan
10:00: France v Argentina
Friday 30 December
01:00: USA v Czech Republic
03:00: Italy v Brazil
04:00: Greece v Bulgaria
08:00: Australia v Great Britain
09:00: Switzerland v Kazakhstan
10:00: France v Argentina
23:00: Germany v Czech Republic
Saturday 31 December
00:00: Brazil v Norway
02:00: Belgium v Bulgaria
04:30: Spain v Great Britain
05:30: Poland v Kazakhstan
07:30: Croatia v Argentina
23:00: Germany v Czech Republic
Sunday 1 January
00:00: Brazil v Norway
02:00: Belgium v Bulgaria
04:30: Spain v Great Britain
05:30: Poland v Kazakhstan
07:30: Croatia v Argentina
Monday 2 January
01:00: USA v Germany
03:00: Italy v Norway
04:00: Greece v Belgium
08:00: Spain v Australia
09:00: Poland v Switzerland
10:00: France v Croatia
Tuesday 3 January
01:00: USA v Germany
03:00: Italy v Norway
04:00: Greece v Belgium
08:00: Spain v Australia
09:00: Poland v Switzerland
10:00: France v Croatia
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