Add Category
Old flames Nick Kyrgios and Ajla Tomljanovic could pair up again after being named to lead Australia at the inaugural United Cup, the new starter to the summer of tennis.
- Spain's Rafael Nadal and Polish women's world number one Iga Świątek head their country's teams for the first-ever United Cup mixed teams event
- Australia, featuring Nick Kyrgios, Ajla Tomljanovic and Alex de Minaur, will be one of 18 eight-player teams for the event starting on December 29
- Group games will be held in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney before the finals in Sydney from January 6 to 8
Alex de Minaur, Jason Kubler, Zoe Hives, Maddison Inglis and doubles stars John Peers and Samantha Stosur round out Australia's eight-player line-up for the mixed teams' event from December 29 to January 8.
But it is the prospect of Wimbledon runner-up Kyrgios and three-times grand slam quarter-finalist Tomljanovic reuniting on court that will excite home fans most.
Organisers revealed a star-studded field on Thursday, headlined by 22-times major winner Rafael Nadal and women's world number one Iga Świątek
Entries from the top-16 countries were announced, with Team Greece — led by world number three Stefanos Tsitsipas and the sixth-ranked Maria Sakkari — named as top seeds.
Świątek and men's world number 11 Hubert Hurkacz will spearhead second-seeded Poland, with third seeds the USA featuring a wealth of talent, including world number three Jessica Pegula, ninth-ranked Taylor Fritz, world number 11 Madison Keys and charismatic US Open semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe.
Nadal will team up with world number 13 Paula Badosa for Spain, while emerging tennis powerhouse Italy can call on 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini and rising star Martina Trevisan.
France rounds out the top six seeds, led by Arthur Rinderknech and WTA Finals winner and world number four Caroline Garcia.
Other notable entries include Norway's world number four Casper Ruud, Germany's Alexander Zverev, and Switzerland's Belinda Bencic and Stan Wawrinka, along with dual Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic.
The top six WTA ranking-qualified countries, top five ATP ranking-qualified countries and the top five combined entry countries have been admitted to the competition.
The final two nations — one ATP and one combined entry — will be admitted to the competition on November 21.
Brisbane, Perth and Sydney will each host two groups of three countries competing in a round-robin format from December 29 to January 4.
Each tie comprises two men's and two women's singles matches and one mixed doubles match.
The winners of each group will play off, with the city winners advancing to the United Cup's final four in Sydney from January 6 to 8.
Then the next-best-performing team from the group stages will complete the quartet.
AAP