Australia To Host Brand New $15M Mixed Team Event - UBITENNIS
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Australia To Host Brand New $15M Mixed Team Event

18 teams will participate in the 11-day event but two countries have been barred from entering.

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Some of the world’s best players from both the men’s and women’s Tour’s will join forces to participate in a brand new tennis event. 

The United Cup is a joint-venture created by the ATP and WTA that will feature 18 teams playing across three cities in Australia. It will be the first time the two governing bodies will host an event together which is being done so in partnership with Tennis Australia. There will be a total of $15M in prize money up for grabs, as well as 500 Pepperstone ATP Rankings and WTA rankings points. 

Under tournament rules, the first 12 teams will qualify for the event based on the six highest ranked players on the ATP and WTA Tours who enter. The other six will qualify based on their combined ranking. The entry cut-off date will be November 7th. Each team will have between three to four players from each Tour.

The 11-day event will be held in Brisbane (Pat Rafter Arena), Perth (RAC Arena) and Sydney (Ken Rosewall Arena). Perth was the city which staged the highly successful Hopman Cup between 1989-2019. Another mixed team event which was run by the International Tennis Federation but didn’t have the ability to offer ranking points.

Each city will host two groups of three countries with ties being played in a round-robin format. Each tie will feature five matches – two women’s singles, two men’s singles and one mixed doubles.

I love to see the men and women competing together. It’s something I’m very excited about,” three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray commented on the new event. “We’re the only global sport where men and women compete at the same venues, which is something very special about our sport and something to be celebrated. Big events like this will help.
“I’m sure all the players will be very passionate about competing for their countries and the men and women will work together to support each other.”

Tennis Australia CEO Craif Tiley says the event  promises to ‘unite both the men’s and women’s tour in a brand-new way that has never been seen before.’ The latest development has been hailed as a step towards equality in tennis but the process to get there in recent years hasn’t gone smoothly as some would have hoped. 

Until this year, the season had started with the men-only ATP Cup which was also played across three Australian cities. Its birth prompted the end of the Hopman Cup which caused frustration among many tennis fans. Furthermore, a contractual agreement meant the ATP Cup matches had to take place in the premier stadiums. Resulting in women’s matches at the Brisbane WTA 500 being played on the smaller courts and triggering a debate around sexism.

As a result of the war in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus will be banned from playing in the inaugural United Cup. The countries are currently suspended from playing in team tournaments by the ITF and players are only allowed to compete on the Tour as neutral athletes. 

“If you’re doing a national team competition when players obviously are playing for that flag and for that national pride, all we’re doing is taking the same position that the whole of the sport has taken,” The Telegraph quoted tournament director Stephen Farrow as saying. 

The United Cup will take place from December 29 to January 8.


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Jannik Sinner reaches his fourth semifinal of the year in Miami

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This year’s Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner converted four of his eleven break points in his 6-4 6-2 win over Tomas Machac in 91 minutes to reach his fourth semifinal of the season at the Miami Open. 

Sinner has claimed a tour-leading 20th match win this season to reach the Miami Open semifinal for the third time. The world number 3 finished runner-up to Hubert Hurkacz in 2021 and Danil Medvedev in 2023 in his finals in Miami. 

Sinner started the match with an immediate break in the first game to take a 1-0 lead. Machac, who beat Andrey Rublev and Andy Murray on his way to the quarter final in Miami, broke straight back to draw level to 1-1. Sinner earned his second break in an eight-minute seventh game to take a 4-3 lead. The Italian star held on his next two service games to close out on his first set point. 

Sinner earned two break points on each of Machac’s first three service games. He broke twice in the third and fifth games to open up a 5-1 lead and served out the win on his second match point. Sinner dropped just three points on serve in the second set. 

Sinner will face the winner of the quarter final match between Danil Medvedev and Nicolas Jarry. 

“I did not exactly know what to expect today. The first games I was looking a little bit what kind of tactics could work or not. Today I played especially in the important moments of the match. I am really happy to play again in the semifinals here. Machac has an incredible talent to play this sport. He is super fast also physically . He is in great shape. I feel good. I am just happy to compete. We practise very hard to be in these positions and I am really happy I can play once again in the semifinals at this special tournament. I made my first Masters 1000 final here. I am really happy to be back in the semifinals ”, said Sinner. 

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Danielle Collins beats Caroline Garcia to reach the second semifinal of her career in Miami

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Danielle Collins beat Caroline Garcia 6-3 6-2 in 80 minutes to reach her second semifinal at the Miami Open. Collins became the first qualifier to reach the semifinal in the history of this tournament. 

Collins achieved her third win against a seeded player in five matches over the past seven days. 

Collins dropped just 11 points in nine service games against Garcia and hit 22 winners to Garcia’s 12. 

Collins earned a break in the eighth game and held serve to seal the first set 6-3. The US player broke serve in the third game of the second set and never looked back to close out the match in 1 hout and 19 minutes. 

Collins has extended her record to 4-0 in her head-to-head matches against Garcia and has not lost a set to her French opponent. 

Collins set up a semifinal match against the winner of Wednesday night’s match between Jessica Pegula and Elena Alexandrova, who beat world number one player Iga Swiatek in the fourth round.  

Collins won two WTA titles in Palermo and San José in 2021 but she has not reached a WTA Tour level final since losing to Ashleigh Barty in Melbourne in 2022. 

“I think Caroline Garcia comes out here and fights her butt off. She hits some really strong shots. I don’t think the set scores are a reflection of how close the match really is”, said Collins. 

Garcia beat Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff to reach the quarter finals in Miami for the first time in her career. The French player was troubled by an injury to her right shoulder and received treatment early in the second set. 

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Alexander Zverev beats Karen Khachanov to reach the quarter final for the fourth time in his career in Miami

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Alexander Zverev beat Karen Khachanov 6-1 6-4 without facing any break points in a re-match of the Olympic final in Tokyo 2021 to reach back-to-back quarter finals after advancing to the last eight at Indian Wells. Zverev is aiming to win his first Masters 1000 title since Cincinnati in 2021. 

Zverev dropped just nine points on serve in the whole match and fired nine aces. The German player converted three of his four break points. 

Zverev broke twice in the fourth and sixth games to win the first set 6-1. The German player earned another break in the third game. He held on his next service games and sealed the win on his first match point. Zverev leads 4-2 in his six head-to-head matches against Khachanov. The German player reached the quarter final for the fourth time in his career in Miami and the last eight in a Masters 1000 tournament for the 27th time in his career. 

Zverev set up a quarter final match against Hundary’s Fabian Maroszan, who upset Alex De Minaur 6-4 1-6 6-1. The first set went on serve until the 10th game when Maroszan earned a break to win the first set 6-4. De Minaur broke three times to take a bagel win in the second set forcing the match to the decider. Maroszan broke twice in the fourth and sixth games and served out the win on his third match point. 

Maroszan reached his second Masters 1000 quarter final after advancing to the last eight in Shanghai in 2023. Maroszan has a record of four wins to just 1 defeat against top 10 players and 14 wins to just 3 defeats at Masters 1000 tournaments. De Minaur was looking to become the first player to reach 20 wins this season. 

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