United Cup facts for kids
Quick facts for kids United Cup |
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| Location | Brisbane, Perth, Sydney Australia |
| Court type | Hard / outdoors |
| Draw | 18 teams |
| Prize money | US$11,170,000 (2025) |
| Current champion |  United States |
| Website | UnitedCup.com |
The United Cup is a big international tennis tournament where men and women play together on the same team. Eighteen countries send their best players to compete on hard courts in Australia.
The first United Cup was held in late 2022 and early 2023. The tournament takes place over 11 days in different Australian cities. It's an exciting warm-up event for the famous Australian Open.
Contents
How the Tournament Began
The United Cup was created to replace an older men's tournament called the ATP Cup. The new event is more like the Hopman Cup, a popular mixed-gender tournament that ran for many years.
A special feature of the United Cup is that it's the first mixed-team event where players can earn points for both the men's (ATP) and women's (WTA) world rankings. Winning players can earn up to 500 points, which helps them climb the world rankings.
The United Cup Trophy
The United Cup trophy is a stunning piece of art made by Thomas Lyte, a company in London famous for making trophies. It took over 400 hours to create!
The trophy is made of sterling silver and plated with 24-carat gold. It stands 50 centimeters tall. It has 36 rods that sweep upwards, representing the 18 teams of men and women who compete. Each rod was carefully shaped by hand.
How the Tournament Works
Tournament Format
The United Cup starts with a group stage. The 18 countries are split into six groups of three. In this stage, each team plays against the other two teams in its group. This is called a round-robin.
After the group stage, the winners of each group, plus the two best runner-up teams, move on to the quarterfinals. The tournament then becomes a knockout competition, with teams playing semifinals and a final to decide the champion.
Each match-up between two countries, called a "tie," consists of three matches:
- One men's singles match
- One women's singles match
- One mixed doubles match (where a man and a woman from each country team up)
How Teams Qualify
Eighteen countries get to compete in the United Cup. Here’s how they qualify:
- Six spots go to countries based on the world ranking of their best male player.
- Six spots go to countries based on the world ranking of their best female player.
- The last six spots are for countries with the best combined ranking of their top male and female players.
As the host country, Australia gets a guaranteed spot if it doesn't qualify through the ranking system.
Where the Games Are Played
The United Cup matches are held in three major arenas across Australia.
| Image | Name | Opened | Capacity | Location | Events | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pat Rafter Arena | 2009 | 5,500 | Brisbane | 2023 | ||
| RAC Arena | 2012 | 15,500 | Perth | 2023–present | ||
| Ken Rosewall Arena | 1999 | 10,500 | Sydney | 2023–present |
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Past Champions
Here are the winners and runners-up from the United Cup finals.
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | United States |
 Italy |
4–0 |
| 2024 |  Germany |
 Poland |
2–1 |
| 2025 | United States |
Poland |
2–0 |
Results by Nation
This table shows how each country has performed in the United Cup. You can see how far they got each year and their total wins and losses.
| Country | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Overall | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rnd | W–L | Rnd | W–L | Rnd | W–L | App | W–L | |
 Argentina |
RR | 0–2 | – | – | RR | 1–1 | 2 | 1–3 |
 Australia |
RR | 1–1 | SF | 2–2 | RR | 1–1 | 3 | 4–4 |
 Belgium |
RR | 0–2 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0–2 |
 Brazil |
RR | 1–1 | RR | 0–2 | RR | 0–2 | 3 | 1–5 |
 Bulgaria |
RR | 1–1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1–1 |
 Canada |
– | – | RR | 1–1 | RR | 1–1 | 2 | 2–2 |
 Chile |
– | – | RR | 1–1 | – | – | 1 | 1–1 |
 China |
– | – | QF | 1–2 | QF | 1–2 | 2 | 2–4 |
 Croatia |
HF | 2–1 | RR | 1–1 | RR | 0–2 | 3 | 3–4 |
 Czech Republic |
RR | 1–1 | RR | 0–2 | SF | 2–2 | 3 | 3–5 |
 France |
RR | 1–1 | SF | 3–1 | RR | 0–2 | 3 | 4–4 |
| Germany |
RR | 0–2 | W | 4–1 | QF | 2–1 | 3 | 6–4 |
 Great Britain |
HF | 2–1 | RR | 1–1 | QF | 1–2 | 3 | 4–4 |
 Greece |
SF | 3–1 | QF | 1–2 | RR | 1–1 | 3 | 5–4 |
| Italy |
F | 3–2 | RR | 0–2 | QF | 2–1 | 3 | 5–5 |
 Kazakhstan |
RR | 0–2 | – | – | SF | 3–1 | 2 | 3–3 |
 Netherlands |
– | – | RR | 1–1 | – | – | 1 | 1–1 |
 Norway |
RR | 0–2 | QF | 1–2 | RR | 0–2 | 3 | 1–6 |
| Poland |
SF | 3–1 | F | 4–1 | F | 4–1 | 3 | 11–3 |
 Serbia |
– | – | QF | 2–1 | – | – | 1 | 2–1 |
 Spain |
RR | 0–2 | RR | 1–1 | RR | 0–2 | 3 | 1–5 |
 Switzerland |
RR | 1–1 | – | – | RR | 1–1 | 2 | 2–2 |
| United States |
W | 5–0 | RR | 1–1 | W | 5–0 | 3 | 11–1 |
See also
In Spanish: United Cup para niños
- ATP Cup
- Billie Jean King Cup
- Davis Cup
- Hopman Cup
