The 2026 tennis season gets under way on Friday with the United Cup – a team event at which our Andy Schooler has made a profit from in all three previous editions.
Tennis betting tips: United Cup
3pts win USA at 5/2 (Betfred)
0.5pt e.w. Belgium at 66/1 (Betfred)
United Cup
- Sydney & Perth, Australia (outdoor hard)
Now in its fourth year, the United Cup – a mixed team event – kicks off the 2026 tennis season on Friday. That’s January 2 for those lost in the fog.
Before we consider the likely winners, let’s take a look at the format.
Eighteen teams have been split into six groups of three across two cities (Perth and Sydney). The group winners will progress to the knockout stage, alongside the runner-up with the best record at each venue.
The semis and final will take place in Sydney which means the Perth quarter-final winners have two days to transfer across Australia and bed in at their new surroundings. In short, those playing in Sydney have a slight advantage.
Both venues are technically outdoor hardcourts although the Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney does have a canopy roof, while the RAC Arena in Perth has a retractable roof to be used in the event of inclement weather.
Each tie is made up of three rubbers – men’s and women’s singles (the order varies from tie-to-tie) before a potentially decisive mixed doubles.
While a strong doubles pairing gives a team plenty of winning options, the big hitters will look to win ties in the singles.
Those with one star player may well look to utilise that person in both singles and doubles – hopefully they can carry the team virtually single-handedly.
However, this is the opening week of a long season so not everyone will be wanting to play five singles and five doubles in little over a week.
With the basics covered, let’s move onto those teams…
GROUP A (Perth)
USA (5/2)
Men – Taylor Fritz (6), Mackenzie McDonald (112), Christian Harrison (15*)
Women – Coco Gauff (3), Varvara Lepchenko (147), Nicole Melichar-Martinez (18*)
The defending champions are understandable favourites given both of their singles players are ranked in the top six. The US also have two top-20 doubles players, if they are required. History shows the Americans take this seriously; they also won the inaugural event (under a slightly different format) in 2023.
Spain (40/1)
Men – Jaume Munar (36), Carlos Taberner (102), Inigo Cervantes (102*)
Women – Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (41), Andrea Lazaro Garcia (183), Yvonne Cavelle-Reimers (104*)
Both Munar and Bouzas Maneiro enjoyed some good results on hardcourts in 2025 but both have tough matches in store against the USA. With doubles options not looking particularly great, Spain are probably just hoping to qualify as one of the best runners-up.
Argentina (100/1)
Men – Sebastian Baez (45), Marco Trungelliti (129), Guido Andreozzi (32*)
Women – Solana Sierra (66), Maria Lourdes Carle (152), Nicole Fossa Huergo (105*)
I seem to say the same thing about Argentina whenever writing a team-event preview but it still rings true – they’d prefer to be playing on clay. Instead, it looks set to be an uphill battle for Baez and Sierra. The latter did enjoy something of a breakthrough last season but her experience of hardcourts is limited at this level. Hard to see them making an impact.
GROUP B (Sydney)
Canada (8/1)
Men – Felix Auger-Aliassime (5), Alexis Galarneau (206), Cleeve Harper (94*)
Women – Victoria Mboko (18), Kayla Cross (199 & 150*), Ariana Arseneault (196*)
Both singles players enjoyed the second half of 2025 and if both hit the ground running Down Under, Canada will have a decent chance. Auger-Aliassime won 24 of his last 31 matches of 2025, with five of those losses coming against either Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz. Mboko claimed a stunning win in Montreal. Injury issues then struck but she ended the year with another title in Hong Kong. Favourites to win this group, no doubt.
Belgium (66/1)
Men – Zizou Bergs (43), Kimmer Coppejans (234), Sander Gille (49*)
Women – Elise Mertens (20 & 5*), Greet Minnen (120), Lara Salden (611*)
Belgium are certainly second favourites in this group but a case can be made for the upset to be landed. Bergs had some good results in 2025, albeit he was only 2-7 against the top 20. Mertens is top 20 in both formats and looks set for double duty. If she performs well, the Belgians could punch above their weight again.
China (100/1)
Men – Zhizhen Zhang (415), Rigele Te (646), Aoran Wang (250*)
Women – Zhu Lin (168), Xiaodi You (286)
Without their best players, China look out of their depth here. Zhang is at least a better player than his current ranking suggests – he missed large chunks of 2025 through injury and has won just one match since March. Hard to see where wins are coming from and look poised for an early exit.
GROUP C (Perth)
Italy (4/1)
Men – Flavio Cobolli (22), Andrea Pellegrino (141), Andrea Vavassori (14*)
Women – Jasmine Paolini (8 & 3=*), Nuria Brancaccio (167), Sara Errani (3=*)
Italy have a massive advantage in terms of their doubles team – Vavassori and Errani have won three Grand Slam mixed titles as a pair in the past two years. They will be hard to stop in any live doubles rubber. Italy are likely to take it that far against most opponents. Paolini is a top-10 star who has often performed at her best in team formats and while both Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti are absent, Cobolli is no mug and certainly capable of winning rubbers in this group.
France (66/1)
Men – Arthur Rinderknech (29), Geoffrey Blancaneaux (255), Edouard Roger-Vasselin (17*)
Women – Lois Boisson (36), Leolia Jeanjean (103), Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah (121)
Rinderknech impressed during the second half of last season, notably reaching the final of the Shanghai Masters, but he’ll need to be at his best if France are to stand any chance. Boisson is really a claycourter – her ranking is only so high due to her stunning semi-final run at Roland Garros. It’s hard to see the French making the latter stages of this tournament.
Switzerland (33/1)
Men – Stan Wawrinka (157), Jakub Paul (81*), Luca Castelnuovo (316*)
Women – Belinda Bencic (11), Naima Karamoko (158*)
Former Davis Cup champion Wawrinka enters his final season on tour looking to roll back the years and help Switzerland to another prize, but it looks unlikely. Bencic does offer serious quality of the women’s side so if ‘Stan the Man’ can find his best, then the Swiss cannot be written off. However, doubles options don’t look great.
GROUP D (Sydney)
Australia (20/1)
Men – Alex de Minaur (7), Jason Kubler (196), John-Patrick Smith (45*)
Women – Maya Joint (32 & 54*), Maddison Inglis (164), Storm Hunter (33*)
The hosts have a poor record in this tournament, only once making it out of the group stage in three attempts, and never reaching the final. De Minaur has to perform for them to have a chance this time and, to be fair, he usually starts his season well on home soil. The support acts are the issue. Joint is a rising star on the WTA Tour but is likely to find it hard, at least during the business end of the event – if the Aussies make it that far.
Czechia (20/1)
Men – Jakub Mensik (19), Dalibor Svrcina (96), Adam Pavlasek (53*)
Women – Barbora Krejcikova (65), Linda Fruhvirtova (134), Miriam Skoch (65*)
Mensik won at Masters 1000 level last season and his serve will be a weapon if the courts play on the fast side – they usually do. Former Wimbledon champion Krejcikova is better than her ranking and if her injury problems are fully behind her, she will be confident of notching some wins here. Krejcikova is also a former world number one in doubles, so don’t write the Czechs off.
Norway (80/1)
Men – Casper Ruud (12), Viktor Durasovic (244)
Women – Astrid Brune Olsen (805 & 430*), Malene Helgo (529 & 351*), Ulrikke Eikeri (38*)
Not for the first time, Ruud is carrying the Norwegian team – and it’s also fair to say he’s slipped back a bit in recent times. He does at least have a top-40 doubles player, Eikeri, to help out now but it’s hard to envisage Norway doing much, especially given the other teams in Group D. They’ve won just one of seven previous ties in this competition, going 7-18 in the individual rubbers. Another early exit beckons.
GROUP E (Perth)
Great Britain (16/1)
Men – Billy Harris (126), Neal Skupski (9*)
Women – Emma Raducanu (29), Katie Swan (276), Olivia Nicholls (26*)
Losing Jack Draper has severely damaged GB’s United Cup hopes. Instead of having the highest-ranked male singles player in the group, they now have the lowest. Still, all hope is not lost. Raducanu bounced back in 2025 and is back inside the top 30, while Skupski and Nicholls are both strong doubles specialists on their respective tours. However, there’s little room for error now and Draper’s absence is likely to prove costly at some point.
Greece (20/1)
Men – Stefanos Tsitsipas (34), Stefanos Sakellaridis (282), Petros Tsitsipas (224*)
Women – Maria Sakkari (52), Despina Papamichail (162), Sapfo Sakellaridi (141*)
Both Stefanos Tsitsipas and Sakkari are not the players they once were but maybe a close-season reset has been just what the doctor ordered. We know both have the talent to compete in a tournament of this nature so the Greeks will be an intriguing watch in the group stage. If both deliver the performance they will be aiming for, Greece could well go deep.
Japan (33/1)
Men – Shintaro Mochizuki (100), Yasutaka Uchiyama (311)
Women – Naomi Osaka (16), Nao Hibino (174)
Osaka is the star turn on this team but it doesn’t have much else. Indeed, there are only four players named. It’s hard to see how Japan manage to win two of three rubbers in a tie. Even if they do it once, they aren’t going to be able to keep pulling off upsets.
GROUP F (Sydney)
Germany (11/1)
Men – Alex Zverev (3), Patrick Zahraj (268), Kevin Krawietz (11=*)
Women – Eva Lys (40), Laura Siegemund (46 & 24*), Mina Hodzic (442)
Zverev helped Germany win this event two years, winning eight of 10 rubbers. Notably, he played singles and doubles then, going 3-0 alongside Siegemund, but this year the presence of doubles expert Krawietz means he’ll likely focus on singles – he’s the top-ranked male in the tournament. Lys looks vulnerable in women’s singles but Krawietz and Siegemund may prove to be a crucial doubles team in a tricky group.
Poland (9/2)
Men – Hubert Hurkacz (73), Daniel Michalski (250), Jan Zielinski (34*)
Women – Iga Swiatek (2), Katarzyna Kawa (139), Katarzyna Piter (58*)
Poland have title potential – if Hurkacz fires. In Swiatek, the Poles have the top-ranked singles player in the field and she looks a lock for a point in most ties. The problem is Hurkacz hasn’t played since June due to injury so it’s hard to know what to expect from him, although he is a former top-10 star with one of the best serves in the game. A good level will likely be required though given he’s due to face two top-25 players in this group. Doubles could be crucial – and Swiatek may well be required in that format too.
Netherlands (40/1)
Men – Tallon Griekspoor (25), Guy Den Ouden (160), David Pel (29*)
Women – Suzan Lamens (89), Eva Vedder (226), Demi Schuurs (21*)
While I wouldn’t completely write off the Dutch, they face big task in this group. There’s an obvious weakness in the women’s singles slot which means Lamens is either going to have to play well above herself or that everything else has to go right. Pel and Schuurs have potential as a double pairing and Griekspoor’s best is capable of winning rubbers against most. Hard to see it happening often enough this week though.
VERDICT
Before reaching a decision on who to back, we need to consider the knockout stage draw bracket, which has already been set as follows:
Winner A v Perth RU
Winner F v Winner D
Winner C v Winner E
Sydney RU v Winner B
I’d certainly envisage USA and Italy winning their groups which would put them on opposite sides of the draw – and on course for a potential final.
I would not be surprised were those two to face off in the title match but if they did meet, I’d fancy the Americans’ singles strength to shine through and deny Italy the chance to claim victory with their strong doubles team.
Coco Gauff would be expect to beat Jasmine Paolini and Taylor Fritz would certainly start favourite against Flavio Cobolli; having two singles players both in the world’s top six will be the envy of all teams.
It’s not hard to see the USA winning every singles rubber – and therefore the title – but if there is a slip-up (Fritz lost once last year) Gauff is an excellent doubles player.
She teamed up with Fritz to good effect at last year’s event, winning both rubbers they played as a doubles team.
USA have a very winnable group and if they do top it, they’d face a runner-up in the last eight. That looks a smooth path to the semis from where they have the quality to win.
Iga Swiatek’s Poland are also highly fancied by the layers but the fact that Hubert Hurkacz hasn’t played since June has to be a concern. With Germany in their group, it’s far from certain they will even make the knockout stage – they look too short at around 4/1.
Czechia have potential in mid-market at 20s but, like Greece, they will need their inconsistent stars to shine from the get-go and there’s definitely plenty of risk in backing them.
Canada warrant respect, although we can’t be sure that Victoria Mboko’s promise to last season will continue.
They are well fancied but the price gap between them and group rivals BELGIUM is too big.
Elise Mertens is a player who can win rubbers in both singles and doubles, while if Zizou Bergs brings his A-game, then Belgium could cause an upset or two.
Preference would be to back them to win the group, although at time of writing, such markets were sadly not available.
Instead, let’s have a small each-way play on the Belgians at 66/1.
If they do top Group B, they will face a runner-up in the quarter-finals with Italy looking their most likely semi-final foes.
Posted at 15:20 GMT on 30/12/25
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