Once Again, Poland Places United Cup Hopes On Hurkacz And Swiatek

Hubert Hurkacz, Iga Swiatek
Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Swiatek (photo: Tennis Australia/James Gourley)

SYDNEY/WASHINGTON, January 5, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

The last time that Poland faced Germany in the United Cup two years ago, the Germans pulled out a dramatic 2-1 victory in the finals at Sydney, with Alexander Zverev saving two championship points against Hubert Hurkacz in singles before teaming with Laura Siegemund to capture the decisive mixed doubles rubber.

Iga Swiatek had given the Polish an early lead after defeating Angelique Kerber. However, Zverev’s incredible comeback and the subsequent doubles triumph secured Germany’s first and only United Cup title.

Fast forward to Monday and Day 4 of this year’s United Cup, and many of the principal players from 2024 were on court at Ken Rosewall Arena again. Zverev and Siegemund as well as Hurkacz and Swiatek.

However, this time produced a much different result than the last time. That’s because Poland defeated Germany 3-0 in back of a couple of stellar performances by Hurkacz and Swiatek in singles.

After finishing runner-up in the last two United Cup mixed-team event competitions in Australia, Poland is back and, once again, is placing its hopes on its top two players, Hurkacz and Swiatek.

After missing more than half of the 2025 season due to a right knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery, the 28-year-old former World No. 6 Hurkacz, who is currently ranked 83rd, upset the World No. 3 Zverev, 6-3, 6-4, in an hour and 22 minutes, which gave Poland a 1-0 lead that it would not relinquish for the rest of the tie.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been competing. Seven months I’ve been going through difficult times with the team and it was very challenging,” Hurkacz said during his on-court interview after completing his first match since last June in ’s-Hertogenbosch. “They were all supporting me, they were all behind me. We went through definitely a long period of time not competing and not knowing when we [would] be able to be back on court again. I was just trying to cherish and enjoy every moment here on the court today.”

Hurkacz fired 21 aces and won 70 percent of his service points overall. He saved the only break point he faced and broke Zverev’s serve twice in three attempts. Hurkacz outpointed Zverev 58-50.

“I was serving quite well. I was finding nice spots, so that’s definitely a nice feeling to really have good rhythm on the serve,” said Hurkacz, who improved to 2-3 lifetime against Zverev. “Just so pleased with the performance and just also so much fun to see the fans again.”

Next, Germany’s 40th-ranked Eva Lys looked poised for an upset of the six-time major champion Swiatek after winning the opening set. However, the World No. 2 from Poland righted herself, won five straight games to garner the second set and broke to go ahead 3-1 in the third. Finally, a decisive break in the 10th game enabled Swiatek to earn a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory in two hours and 29 minutes.

Swiatek converted eight of 18 break-point chances and outscored Lys 102-91. It added up to her 12th career United Cup victory.

With the tie clinched, Poland closed out the sweep of Germany by winning the mixed doubles rubber behind the efforts of Jan Zielinski and Katarzyna Kawa, who defeated Zverev and Siegemund, 7-6 (6), 6-3.

Poland (1-0) can wrap up first place in Group F with a win against the Netherlands on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Germany (1-1) has a chance to advance to the quarterfinals if it finishes as the team with the best runner-up record among second-place finishers in Perth’s Groups B, D and F.

During her team’s pre-tournament news conference on Saturday, Swiatek said she enjoys coming to the United Cup because the “atmosphere is so much different.

“We get so many, like, normal tournaments on tour that honestly it gets boring sometimes.

“Playing a team event and having the different energy, like being able to have a team and talk to different people than we do on our, I think is great. It’s really refreshing. I will always choose United Cup.”

 

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United States 2, Spain 1

Chasing after its third United Cup title in four years, the United States eked out a 2-1 victory over winless Spain to improve to 2-0 and advanced to the quarterfinals from Group A in Perth. 

The Americans overcame an early scare after World No. 3 Coco Gauff was upset in her singles rubber by Spain’s 42nd-ranked Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-0, in two hours and 11 minutes. It was Bouzas Maneiro’s first career Top-5 victory and she took advantage of 14 double faults by Gauff. The Spaniard outpointed her opponent 105-80.

“I know Coco and she’s a fighter,” Bouzas Maneiro said afterward. “She’s there all the time in the match, so I knew that I had to be there, and even if I’m 4-1 up, I have to be there. And yeah, she won the second set and I went to the bathroom and I was trying to focus just to take it point by point. 

“And that was my mentality in the third set. To be [there] with power every point because even if you are [up] 3-0 or 4-0, you have to be ready.”

Next, it took World No. 9 Taylor Fritz saving a match point from No. 38 Jaume Munar to preserve a 7-6 (4), 3-6, 7-6 (6) victory that lasted three hours and 14 minutes and kept the American’s hopes alive after leveling the tie 1-all.

“It was a crazy match,” Fritz said during his on-court interview. “I thought Jaume played very well. I felt I was in a lot of his service games but he played so well on so many of the big points.

“I had to come up with a lot to keep myself in the match or convert any of the big points. It was really tough, really physical.”

Fritz needed a medical timeout at 4-all in the third set to treat a bloodied toe he injured after sliding to chase a drop shot. He’s also been dealing with rehabbing his knee in what he described as “pretty serious tendonitis.”

“The knee is something I’m going to be dealing with for a while,” Fritz said. “I started feeling it towards the end of the first set but it didn’t get any worse. Typically I start feeling it and it gets worse and worse and worse until I can’t even bend it. So I’m really happy with the fact that it stayed at the level it was at and it wasn’t bad enough to stop me from playing through.”

Then, Gauff returned and gained her redemption in the mixed doubles rubber. She and Christian Harrison defeated Inigo Cervantes and Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers, 7-6 (5), 6-0, after rallying from an early break in the opening set to clinch the tie for the United States. The loss eliminated Spain from the United Cup.

“I think that’s the beauty of this event, that you have other people that can pick you up on your off days,” Gauff said at the end of the day. “Yeah, I’m looking forward to doing better in the next matches.”

During their post-tie news conference, U.S. team captain Michael Russell summed up the American’s performance. He said:

“Coco had a tough match, did a great job winning the second set and coming back, and then had to turn it around in the mixed doubles and played great.

“Taylor just battled like he always does and really tough, nail-biter down match points. I should say up match points. Look, I mean, that’s what the team does. It’s a unique atmosphere here, and great support from everyone in the team zone. Came out, and that’s why they’ve done so well here in the past, because everyone is playing for everyone.”

Czechia 3, Norway 0

Czechia shut out Norway on the strength of its singles victories by Barbora Krejcikova and Jakub Mensik. 

First the two-time major champion Krejcikova won her United Cup debut with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Norway’s Malene Helgø in an hour and 38 minutes. The former World No. 2, now ranked 63rd, is coming off an injury-riddled 2025 season in which she dealt with both back and knee problems. Looking for a fresh start, her win over Helgø was punctuated by eight aces and an 89-percent efficiency rate in winning points on her first serve. She converted four of seven break points and outpointed her opponent 70-57.

“I didn’t play for a long period, and the injury that I had was really tough and very unfortunate,” Krejcikova said in her on-court interview. “I’m really happy that I’m here, that I can play, that I can enjoy it, that I can compete, and I’m really happy that I can finally finish a match. …

“The knee is better. It took some time, but it’s improving every day and I’m very happy with that.”

Next, World No. 18 Mensik beat World No. 12 Casper Ruud in a battle of Top-20 foes, 7-5, 7-6 (6), in two hours and eight minutes, behind 16 aces. Mensik’s win clinched the tie for Czechia, which will finish Group D play against Australia (1-0) on Tuesday evening. The loss eliminated Norway (0-2) from the United Cup.

“First match of the season, it’s never easy,” Mensik said during his on-court interview. “It’s been a great fight. I grateful for the win. I managed in both sets to find the power at the end, that was the most important thing.”

Later, during his team’s post-tie news conference, Mensik added: “So much better to go on the court when you are 1-0 up. So, of course, I was more relaxed. I could play with a clear mind, which obviously it was good that we could make it.”

Czechia finished the sweep of Norway in mixed doubles as Krejcikova and Adam Pavlasek beat Ulrikke Eikeri and Viktor Durasovic, 7-5, 6-2.

“I want to congratulate to my team, because I think they played the great matches today,” Czechia team captain Jiri Novak said. “We are so happy that we won 3-0, and all the players won their matches. The level of the game was pretty high. So I’m really very happy that we won.”

Greece 2, Great Britain 1

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari gave Greece the 1-2 punch it needed to advance over Great Britain in Perth Monday night.

First, the 27-year-old Greek star, a former World No. 3 who is now ranked 34th, defeated 127th-ranked Billy Harris, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4), in a hard-fought skirmish that stretched across two hours and 16 minutes. Tsitsipas won 85 percent of his first-serve points, converted two of six break points and outpointed Harris 90-77 to earn his eighth career United Cup singles victory.

“I got fed up losing matches like that [last year],” Tsitsipas said during his on-court interview. “I lost one in September and I just tried everything in my power to not have the same thing happen again. I am grateful to overcome that. It had a crazy energy out here.

“I would like to congratulate Billy. He put up an incredible performance. I haven’t played such a high quality match in such a long time. He did great, pushing me to my limits. I think matches like that are great for the sport.”

Later, the 52nd-ranked Sakkari, like Tsitsipas also a former World No. 3, beat Emma Raducanu for the first time in five career meetings, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. She saved eight of 11 break points she faced, converted five of 16 opportunities against the No. 29 Raducanu and outpointed her 101-85 to win the rubber. 

The victory by Sakkari gave her team an insurmountable 2-0 lead in the tie with the mixed doubles remaining.

“Emma, I’ve had four tough losses against her so to get that first win against her, against a great opponent, it means a lot, especially delivering for Team Greece,” Sakkari said during her on-court interview after earning her second win of the 2026 season. She defeated Japan’s Naomi Osaka last Friday to open her 2026 season.

Great Britain gained its only point in the tie by winning the mixed doubles behind Olivia Nicholls and Neal Skupski, who beat Despina Papamichail and Stefanos Sakellaridis of Greece, 6-3, 3-6, 10-4.

By winning the tie, Greece (2-0) won Group F and advances to the quarterfinal round.

Monday’s United Cup results

Tuesday’s United Cup schedule

By the numbers

• With her win over Eva Lys on Monday, Iga Swiatek improved her United Cup win-loss record to 12-2.

• Coco Gauff‘s loss to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro was just her first one in seven career United Cup singles matches. 

“Quotable …”

“I don’t need to choose, you know? I’m not, because I’m just focusing on my own process. Both of these things are hard to achieve and are a big goal. Also, there is a long way to get there. On a Grand Slam you have to really play great for two weeks, not have any bad days, be consistent. Yeah, it takes a lot to win a Grand Slam.

“Yeah, achieving No. 1 also is tough, especially when Aryna [Sabalenka] has been playing great for last years. Yeah, I’ll just focus on myself honestly, because that’s the only way to go.

“I don’t need to choose which one is more important, which one is a priority. I’m still young. I have, like, plenty of time to do different things and achieve different goals in my career. I really don’t need to put that pressure on myself to do something in next two weeks or something.”

– Iga Swiatek of Poland, during her team’s pre-tournament news conference, on which she prioritizes: winning grand slams or being ranked World No. 1.

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