The preparation for the Australian Open begins this week with a trio of events as well as the team opener at the United Cup!
First of all, Happy New Year from everyone at UBITennis! We hope everyone had good celebrations as 2025 is now in the books as the 2026 tennis season is about to begin. For the first time in a long time the season will begin in the actual year it’s supposed to which is a relief for all tennis fans and now that 2026 is here, a whole host of tennis action awaits. The preparation for the first Grand Slam of the year is underway this week with the Australian Open starting in a couple of weeks time. So here are three things to watch in week one of the 2026 season:
Can Poland End The United Cup Curse?
In the last two years of the competition, Poland have reached the final and been so close to finally getting their hands on the United Cup trophy. However, in respective years they have fallen to Germany and USA respectively with the team of Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz failing to get past the final hurdle. This year the duo return with a weakened field being produced as they have motivation to avoid a third consecutive defeat in the United Cup.
In order to get past the group stages, the Polish side will have to get past Germany who are headlined by Alexander Zverev as well as the Netherlands. It will not be an easy task but if Poland can get past the group stages that will give them confidence heading into the rest of the tournament. On paper either them, USA or Canada have the strongest team in Sydney and Perth but now is the time to perform with Swiatek chasing a career Grand Slam in Melbourne later this month.
Is A Daniil Medvedev Resurgence Inevitable?
It was a mixed season for Daniil Medvedev as he fell down the rankings outside the world’s top ten and as a result brought in a fresh coaching team. That seems to have produced desired results as Medvedev ended the season strongly and brought some momentum into the 2026 season. On hard courts, Medvedev is one of the most dangerous players in the world and will be hoping to challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner this season.
However, it’s against the lower ranked players that Medvedev struggled against last season and that will be the first set of doubts that the former US Open champion will need to answer first. A good insight into Medvedev’s mentality will be in Brisbane as he is the top seed and will need to establish his dominance from early on if he wants to show his skillset under pressure. The question is can Medvedev raise his level when he is expected to or will he once again fall to the next generation of players?
Aryna Sabalenka Endures Severe Opening Week Test
World number one Aryna Sabalenka has had a busy off-season to say the least with her controversial ‘battle of the sexes’ clash with Nick Kyrgios highlighting her activities. Now that is in the books, it’s time for Sabalenka to focus on the 2026 season. The world number one produced a successful season but only left the year with one Grand Slam title as her temperament cost her in big moments in Grand Slam finals.
Now, Sabalenka will look to show that she has improved on that side of her game as she takes on a world-class field in Brisbane which includes Amanda Anisimova, WTA Finals champion Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula and Australian Open champion Madison Keys. Can Sabalenka continue her dominance in Brisbane?
The United Cup continues on Saturday 3rd of December while ATP and WTA events in Brisbane, Hong Kong and Auckland start on Monday 5th of December.
