United Cup 2026 Preview: Format, Schedule, Live Streaming - All You Need To Know About Mixed Teams Tennis Event

With the Australian Open set to start on January 18, tennis stars have congregated Down Under for tune-up tournaments, not the least of which is the United Cup. Watch the mixed teams event, which will be played in Perth and Sydney beginning Friday (January 2, 2026), live.

The United Cup will feature five of the world’s top 10 men and four of the world’s top 10 women including Alex de Minaur, Coco Gauff, Taylor Fritz, Iga Swiatek, Alexander Zverev, Jasmine Paolini, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jack Draper. Other big names include Emma Raducanu, Naomi Osaka, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Stan Wawrinka, who has said 2026 will be his last year on tour.

The 40-year-old, three-time major winner Wawrinka says he hopes to improve on his current ranking of 157 and move back into the top 100 before he retires. His highest ranking was No. 3, achieved when he won the Australian Open in 2014.

“I’m happy with the decision (to retire) and feeling at peace with that," Wawrinka said when he arrived earlier this week in Perth.

United Cup 2026: Format, Schedule

Each tie features one men's and one women's singles match, followed by a mixed doubles clash. Singles matches are best-of-three tie-break sets. Mixed doubles matches are two tie-break sets with a deciding match tie-break (10 points) at one set-all.

In Perth, the day session will start at 10am local time (7:30am IST) and the night session at and 5pm local (2:30pm IST). In Sydney, the day session will begin at 10.30am local time (5am IST) and the second session at 5.30pm local (12pm IST).

The group stage in Perth (RAC Arena) runs from Friday, 2 January to Tuesday, 6 January. The quarter-finals in Perth will be held on Wednesday, 7 January. The group stage in Sydney (Ken Rosewall Arena) runs from Saturday, 3 January to Wednesday, 7 January. The quarter-finals in Sydney will be held across 8 and 9 January.

Group winners in each city advance to the last-eight stage, with one quarter-final spot in each city awarded to the best runner up in that city. Winners will progress to the semi-finals (January 10), and the final will be played in Sydney on January 11.

United Cup 2026: Notable Ties In Perth Group Stage

Friday, 2 January (Night): Group E – Greece vs Japan

Sunday, 4 January (Day): Group E – Great Britain vs Japan

Sunday, 4 January (Night): Group C – Italy vs Switzerland

Monday, 5 January (Day): Group A – USA vs Spain

Monday, 5 January (Night): Group E – Great Britain vs Greece

United Cup 2026: Notable Ties In Sydney Group Stage

Saturday, 3 January (Night): Group D – Australia vs Norway

Sunday, 4 January (Night): Group B – Canada vs China

Monday, 5 January (Night): Group F – Germany vs Poland

Tuesday, 6 January (Day): Group B – Canada vs Belgium

Tuesday 6 January (Night): Group D – Australia vs Czechia

United Cup 2026: Live Streaming Info

The United Cup 2026 will be live streamed on the SonyLIV app and website in India. It will be telecast on the Sony Sports Network TV channels in the country.

(With AP inputs)