All eyes are on ‘The Land Down Under’! Some of the elite faces on the ATP Tour and the WTA Tour are now all set to kick-start their campaign at the third edition of the United Cup. The tournament will be held from 27 December 2024 to 5 January 2025, at the RAC Arena in Perth and the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre. In total, seven of the world’s Top 10 women’s and six of the world’s Top 12 men’s players are due to take part in the 2025 United Cup. America’s Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz will lead Team USA in this mega event. But what’s the prize money that these players will be eyeing?

Speaking about this tournament, United Cup Tournament Director Stephan Farrow was heard saying, “The United Cup holds a unique position in global tennis, with the world’s best men and women representing their country at the highest level. Off the back of the Olympics, where true country pride has come to life, we can’t wait to see our eighteen teams bring their passion to Sydney and Perth when they play for big prize money and big ranking points this summer.” How big is the prize money, though?

Per the ATP Tour’s official website, the United Cup, an ATP-WTA event presented in partnership with Tennis Australia, offers a minimum of $10,250,000 million in total prize money and participation fees, with a minimum of $5,125,000 each for ATP and WTA players. Not only that, they can also grab a maximum of 500 PIF ATP and WTA Tour ranking points. Here is the prize money breakdown:

What’s the format at the 2025 United Cup, though? The event will see 18 teams placed into 6 groups of three. The group stages will consist of round-robin ties, where each team will play with both other teams in their group. Interestingly, each tie will consist of one ATP singles match, one WTA singles match and one mixed doubles match, and the top team from each group will advance into the QF.

Who won this competition last time, though? Well, Alexander Zverev’s Germany had the last laugh in the second edition of the United Cup. They defeated Poland by 2-1 in the championship match in Sydney. Who are the big names missing from this mega event this year?

Well, two of the biggest names from the ATP who won’t feature in the 2025 United Cup are Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Recently, there came another later announcement on the WTA side! Who is the next one who joined the list of absentees, though?

Chinese Superstar withdraws from the 2025 United Cup

The world number 5, Qinwen Zheng has decided to skip the 2025 United Cup to prioritize the AO! Zheng finished as a runner-up last year in Melbourne. She was defeated by Aryna Sabalenka (6-3,6-2) in the finals, so she is perhaps now putting her full focus on making it count this time around. Zheng recently shared the update on her social media account saying, “After the long season, that 2024 was for me. I need a few extra weeks of rest, recovery, and good training to get ready for the new season.“

She further added, “I had such a fantastic time at the United Cup in January of this year, and therefore will miss the event greatly. Still, I’m so excited to be back in Australia soon and I will see you all in Melbourne in a couple of weeks.” What are the Americans saying, though?

Well, the 20-year-old tennis star, Coco Gauff is currently gearing up to represent her nation at the United Cup. Apart from Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz, we’ll also see Danielle Collins, Denis Kudla, Desirae Krawczyk, and Robert Golaway in action. Talking about her participation in this year’s event, Coco Gauff was heard saying,

“This will be my first time playing the United Cup, so I’m super excited to kick off the year in Australia. It’s always an honor to represent my country.” She further added, “It’s a really, cool event. I had a lot of fun playing mixed doubles at the Olympics so I kinda want to do that again. I’ve never been to other parts of Australia, other than Melbourne. I don’t know what city we’re going to play in yet but I’m super excited to go whether it’s Perth or Sydney” in that previous interview.

Do you think Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz can lead Team USA to a title triumph at the 2025 United Cup?