United Cup 2026: Preview, teams, schedule & how to watch
• 3 minute read
Great Britain will kick-start the 2026 season down under at the fourth edition of the United Cup, with British No.1 Emma Raducanu leading the charge. Here’s everything you need to know.
When is the United Cup 2026?
The tournament will take place from Friday 2 January to Sunday 11 January 2026.
Drawn in Group F, Great Britain will first face Argentina on Sunday 4 January at 2:00 GMT before meeting Greece on Monday in the hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.
How to watch the United Cup 2026?
All matches for the United Cup 2026 will be streamed via Tennis Channel International.
United Cup 2026 draws
Here’s a full rundown of the 2026 United Cup draw and schedule.
Perth
|
Group A |
Group C |
Group E |
| USA | Italy | Great Britain |
| Spain | France | Greece |
| Argentina | Switzerland | Japan |
Sydney
|
Group B |
Group D |
Group F |
| Canada | Australia | Germany |
| Belgium | Czechia | Poland |
| China | Norway | Netherlands |
United Cup schedule
| Date | Match | Time |
| Sunday 4 January | Great Britain vs Japan | 2:00 UK time |
| Monday 5 January | Great Britain vs Greece | 9:00 UK time |
| Wednesday 7 January |
Quarter-final (day session): Group A winner vs best runner-up Quarter-final (night session): Group C winner vs Group E winner |
Day session: 2:00 UK time Night session: 9:00 UK time |
| Saturday 10 January | Semi-finals |
Timings TBC |
| Sunday 11 January | Final | 6:30 UK time |
Format of the United Cup 2026
This year the United Cup will be following a best of three matches format, with each tie including one men’s singles rubber, one women’s, and one mixed doubles.
Preview
A six-strong squad is set to represent Great Britain in Perth at the beginning of January where they will go head-to-head with Japan and Greece in a hope to break out of the groups.
The British players so far selected to compete at the 2026 United Cup include British No.1 Emma Raducanu, returning star Billy Harris, Katie Swan and doubles specialists Neal Skupski and Olivia Nicholls.
Reigning Indian Wells champion Jack Draper was due to make his debut at the tournament but has been forced to withdraw due to an ongoing injury.
Raducanu joins the squad off the back of a standout season that has seen her rise back into the world’s top 30. The former US Open champion also reached her first WTA 1000 quarter-final, made the semi-finals in Washington and clinched her first top 10 win on a hard court during her solid year on the WTA tour.
For the Brits, they’ll be at an advantage in having world No.9 Skupski on their side. The 36-year-old has just wrapped another consistent year on the ATP Tour which saw him reach the final at Roland Garros, US Open and the Nitto ATP Finals alongside fellow Brit Joe Salisbury.
Meanwhile, world No.26 and Berlin Open women’s doubles champion Nicholls joins the team for the second year in a row alongside Harris who claimed his first ATP Challenger title earlier this year.
Swan completes the line-up after replacing reigning Lexus Wrexham Open champion Mimi Xu.
Great Britain United Cup squad
|
Men's |
Women's |
| Billy Harris (world No.126) | Emma Raducanu (world No.29) |
| Neal Skupski (doubles - world No.9) | Katie Swan (world No.275) |
| Olivia Nicholls (doubles - world No.26) |
United Cup past champions
- 2025 - USA
- 2024 - Germany
- 2023- United States
