United Cup: Perth misses out on Alex de Minaur as Coco Gauff and Stefanos Tsitsipas head to WA

October 21

Perth tennis fans will miss out on a chance to get behind Aussie star Alex de Minaur this summer, with the home nation drawn to play in Sydney rather than WA in the United Cup.

Coco Gauff and Stefanos Tsitsipas headline the international stars who will take to RAC Arena, but world No.9 de Minaur and WA doubles ace Matt Ebden won’t be among them.

It’s a blow for the starpower in Perth after de Minaur, Serbian great Novak Djokovic and then women’s world No.1 Iga Swiatek were the main attractions at last year’s WA event.

World No.3 Gauff will partner with men’s world No.6 Taylor Fritz for a formidable USA pairing for the group stage tie, which will be held from December 27-31.

Camera IconCoco Gauff is on her way to Perth. Credit: AAP

Fresh off an excellent 2024, where she reached the Australia Open final and won Olympic gold, Zheng Qinwen will start her season in Perth for the second year in a row, once again partnering with Zhang Zhizen for the Chinese team.

Having played in Perth two years ago, Stefano Tsitsipas will return to WA as the headline name for Greece in Group C , alongside Kazakhstan – featuring world number five and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina – and Spain.

Another man who is no stranger to Perth is Zverev, and the German will be the main draw card for his country in Group E, with Germany to face China and Brazil.

For the second year running, Australia will take on Great Britain, which will pit de Minaur against his girlfriend in world No.45 Katie Boulter – but this time in Sydney, rather than Perth.

Crowds packed out RAC Arena last year for a number of ties, including de Minaur’s impressive straight-sets win over Djokovic to help Australia beat Serbia in the quarter-finals.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconAlex de Minaur after beating Novak Djokovic last summer. Credit: Trevor Collens/AP

RAC Arena will host two quarter-finals on New Year’s Day, before Sydney hosts the semfinals and final.

More to come

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