United Cup Tournament Director Discloses Discussions on Bringing Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic to 2026 event

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have never played at the United Cup, but Novak Djokovic has featured only once at the event.

United Cup Tournament Director Discloses Discussions on Bringing Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic to 2026 event

L-R: Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Carlos Alcaraz 4K, Todo Sobre Tenis, The Tennis Letter)

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The 2025 season nears its conclusion, and the 2026 campaign is almost upon us. Players have begun their preparation for the new campaign, setting new goals and new heights to reach, and so are tournament organizers. The United Cup tournament director, Stephen Farrow, has revealed that he hopes Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Novak Djokovic compete at the 2026 event.

The United Cup, which is held in Australia, always comes up in the first week of the New Year, and for the 2026 edition, it will commence on the 2nd of January. Players often compete at the tournament as preparation for the first Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne. The tournament is the only mixed event on the calendar and has no ranking points.

The tournament is usually competed in Sydney and Perth, each of the locations hosting three groups made up of three countries. For each round-robin tie, consisting of one men’s single, one women’s single, and a mixed doubles clash. Each win is counted as one point, which means a country will have to win at least two matches to qualify.

The six group winners and two runners-up will then face each other in the quarter-finals, which will eventually lead to the final. Team USA claimed the 2023 victory after beating the Polish Team in the final. Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz played a crucial role in the tournament, with the former beating Iga Swiatek.

However, Alcaraz and Sinner have never participated in the tournament. Only Djokovic has competed in it and that came in 2024. The Serbian legend opted to play at the Brisbane International rather than the tournament last year. During an interview with The West Australian, Stephen Farrow revealed that they were having behind-the-scenes discussions to bring the three top ATP stars:

It’s an ongoing conversation at the minute. We want all the best players in the world to play. We would love Jannik and Carlos and of course Novak to come back. When Novak played here two years ago in Perth, it was so memorable, particularly when he played on that New Year’s Eve and then counted down to New Year with the crowd afterwards. One thing is for sure; we know we’re going to get a lot of top players playing.

Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz have already announced their intention to represent Poland at the 2026 United Cup. They are the first top players to announce participation at the tournament, with the likes of Gauff and Fritz also expected to do so. However, Alcaraz and Sinner often do not take part in any tournament before the Australian Open.

United Cup director opens up about Alex de Minaur’s energy at the tournament

Alex de Minaur, who is currently the Australian No.1 is likely to return to the 2026 United Cup. The Aussie star has given the home crowd a lot to cheer about in the past at the tournament. In 2024, he stunned Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz in their round-robin tie. But, at this year’s edition, he failed to give his best performance.

Alex de Minaur
Alex de Minaur (via the tennis letter)

During the aforementioned interview, Stephen Farrow was asked about the Australian star. The United Cup tournament director revealed that De Minaur has often displayed his commitment and energy for Team Australia each time he participates in the tournament, but didn’t reveal if he will compete:

Alex has given so much to this event. If you look at last year, when Australia didn’t make it through the group stage, his energy and commitment to the event is something else. He’s been fantastic and a real star of this competition, and hopefully 2026 will be no different.

De Minaur’s major aim on tour this season is to secure a place in the Live Race To Turin, where he’s ranked seventh. He competed at the just-concluded Rolex Shanghai Masters, where he reached the quarter-finals before falling to Daniil Medvedev. He hopes to get the necessary points to secure his place during the European indoor tournaments.

Also Read: Nick Kyrgios Gives Updates on Whether He Will Compete at the 2026 Australian Open