Team Poland United Cup Champions at last!

 

SYDNEY, Australia -- Poland finally broke through at the United Cup on Sunday evening, capturing its first championship after falling in the 2024 and 2025 finals with a 2-1 victory over Switzerland at Ken Rosewall Arena.

After Iga Swiatek’s loss to Belinda Bencic in the opening match of the tie, Hubert Hurkacz leveled the final before Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski clinched the title in mixed doubles. It marked the duo’s third straight deciding victory of the week and denied Switzerland in its first appearance in the United Cup final.

Kawa and Zielinski finished a perfect 5-0 in mixed doubles during the tournament, closing the championship tie with a 6-4, 6-3 win over the previously unbeaten pairing of Bencic and Jakub Paul. In the opening set, Kawa delivered a pivotal volley at the net on set point at 5-4 during a deciding point that shifted the match in Poland’s favor.

"I think it always pays off when you're brave on the important points, especially in doubles," Kawa said to reporters. "It was like instinct decision. I just went for it. Yeah, I'm really happy that we sealed this set and we were able to get this match won."

The mixed-doubles loss was Bencic’s only defeat of the tournament. She finished with a 9-1 overall record and earned the event’s most valuable player award.

Bencic went 5-0 in singles, highlighted by Top 10 victories over No. 2 Iga Swiatek
 and No. 8 Jasmine Paolini, and collected 500 ranking points for her performance.

Bencic won 12 of the final 15 games against Swiatek, earning her second career victory over the World No. 2 on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz. The first set seemed the tie’s first match was going to belong to Swiatek, but the pendulum quickly shifted the momentum into the World No. 11's favor.

“It’s always a challenge playing against her and every time I play her, I look for ways to improve and make her life a bit more difficult,” said Bencic, who defeated Swiatek for the first time in over four years. “I think the difference today was I played very freely, I was really enjoying myself out on the court and I was just really going for it.”

Swiatek started strong early, holding serve in the opening game with four straight points followed by the match’s first break and another hold. With Swiatek up 3-0, Bencic did settle into the match, winning two consecutive games of her own, cutting the deficit to 3-2 after a backhand winner on the third break point. The six-time Grand Slam champion eventually closed out the set, winning three of the next four games.

The second set, however, would be a Bencic domination with to force a deciding third set. Bencic started the second set winning nine consecutive points, and in the third game, she saved two break points. The following game, she’d get the crucial break on the third chance and finished the set in 33 minutes.

“To be honest, I felt I was in the match from the very first point,” Bencic said. “I thought I was going great and I was 0-3 down. I was ‘OK, what do I have to do.’ I think I just tried to keep the level and just wait for some chances.”

After three consecutive games with service holds to begin the third, Bencic notched the turning point. With a powerful forehand to set up break point, she took advantage of the crucial point, returning Swiatek’s serve with a convincing backhand winner. Following a service hold, Bencic put herself within two games of the win, leading 4-1, and capitalized.

Swiatek fought to the last point, holding two games of serve and saving two match points with a pair of aces, but Bencic's backhand winner on the third match point sealed the win.

Under pressure with the tie on the line, Hurkacz struck 18 aces against Stan Wawrinka and saved eight of the nine break points he faced. Although Wawrinka earned a crucial break on his way to winning the second set, the three-time Grand Slam champion converted just two of 23 break-point chances across his five singles matches at the event.

Hurkacz went 4-1 in singles during the tournament, capping a successful return from a seven-month injury layoff following knee surgery.

The 28-year-old former World No. 6 also erased lingering United Cup disappointment. In the 2024 final, he held two championship points before losing to Alexander Zverev, and last year he fell to Taylor Fritz in a third-set tiebreak. This time, Hurkacz delivered the point Poland needed to set up the championship-winning mixed-doubles match.

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There's a lot of speculation regarding Iga's conditioning and form happening  after the 2 loses to Coco and Bencic at the United Cup. 

Personally I think her form will be fine (and she's already mentioned she's fine physically other than general soreness).  

The only thing that concerns me is the way she continues to revert to bashing the ball and hitting out when she's feeling stressed instead of relying on her athleticism and extending rallies the way she did at Wimbledon.

She's fine when she's the one controlling the match, but as soon as it slips she panics and doesn't look for solutions, hopefully with more matches as the season goes on that will happen less.

This will be the first time she's going into a Grand Slam with more losses than wins, so definitely a very different situation for her to be in compared to the last 4 years. 

Confidence is definitely a big thing for any player before a Slam, and although I had really high hopes for Iga this Aussie Open I may have to lower my expectations a little. 

A lot will no doubt depend on the draw as well. 

I see two sides to Iga not playing the mixed at all this time around. 

On the one hand she'll be a lot more physically rested but on the other she'll also lack practice and confidence at net that playing mixed allows. 

There is something poetic about Team Poland finally winning the United Cup as a team. 

For 2 years Iga carried the teams hopes on her back, practically killing herself for it (playing singles and mixed) with nothing to show for it. 

And the one year she doesn't do that and faulters in singles the team is actually able to pick up the pieces and carry her to the elusive title.

Whatever happens I'm definitely ready for the first Grand Slam of the year to begin.

Jazda!. 

Iga Swiatek and Team Poland avenge last year's United Cup loss to the U.S.A.

SYDNEY, Australia -- The United Cup has its second finalist, and Poland will return to the final for the third consecutive year after it avenged its 2025 final defeat to the United States with a 2-1 victory in Saturday’s semifinal.

Poland, which got wins from Hubert Hurkacz in singles as well as Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski in mixed doubles, will face first-time finalist Switzerland. World No. 2 Iga Swiatek, who fell to Coco Gauff 4-6, 2-6, will have a chance to redeem herself against Belinda Bencic, while Hurkacz encounters Stan Wawrinka.

Kawa and Zielinski were the heroes, knocking off the previously unbeaten American duo of Gauff and Christian Harrison. Kawa and Zielinski won their second straight deciding mixed doubles following a win over Australia in the quarterfinals Friday.

In the loss to Poland, Gauff earned her fourth straight victory over her rival Swiatek in their 16th overall meeting on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz. That streak includes a 6-4, 6-4 win in last year’s United Cup, as well as wins at Madrid and the 2024 WTA Finals.

"I thought I did everything well, served well, returned well" Gauff said to the WTA on her match vs. Swiatek. "I thought it was a great match for me. I was hoping to get through in the mixed but overall there's a lot of positives to take from today."

The two rivals traded a few holds initially as Gauff, who served first, took a 2-1 lead before notching the match’s first strike. She broke Swiatek and backed it up with a hold, amassing to a 4-1 advantage, but the Pole swiftly found herself back in the set.

Swiatek won 12 consecutive points to win three straight games and level the set at 4-4. She had the momentum, but Gauff remained calm and composed for the remainder of the 43-minute first set. She held serve, and on the ensuing Swiatek service game, the American No. 1 needed just one set point to close it out.

That momentum carried its way into the second, where Gauff bolted out to a 5-0 lead -- Swiatek saved three match points to prevent the second set bagel to get two games back.

In the second and fourth games, Gauff needed three and four break point chances, respectively, to secure the game as each went into a long deuce. In the fourth, Swiatek even had multiple game points of her own, but the final two points saw Swiatek’s shots go long and wide, a common occurrence Saturday evening.

"I feel like Coco has improved stuff. It's quite visible. The matches we played couple years back where most of them were kind of one-sided," Swiatek said. "She's also growing in age, more experienced as well.

"She's a top player for many years now, even though she started with she was, like, 16, much earlier than most of us do. Yeah, congrats to her basically."

It wasn’t the same Swiatek that defeated Maya Joint 6-1, 6-1 a day prior, but she'll have a chance to get her 16th overall singles win at the tournament against Bencic.

As for Hurkacz, the Pole continued his dream start to his comeback with a 7-6 (1), 7-6 (2) win against Fritz.

"Obviously playing Taylor is such a big challenge and it’s a very difficult match, especially this court, it’s quite fast. He’s serving very powerfully. Also, his forehand is really big, so if you leave anything short, he’s going to come after it," Hurkacz told ATP No. 1 Club Jim Courier. "I felt like I played actually quite solid myself. I tried to be more aggressive."

Hurkacz has now beaten Alexander Zverev, Tallon Griekspoor and Fritz in Sydney, claiming all three of those victories in straight sets. Hurkacz saved the two break points he faced against Fritz, which doubled as set points at 4-5 in the opening set, to earn the lead for his country in one hour and 35 minutes.

"Coming back from such a long period the first time in my life, you never know what to expect," Hurkacz said. "I was putting so much work outside of the court so, I give myself time to get back to my level, to an even better level and maybe a little bit less expectations coming into this week helped as well.”

Fritz led Hurkacz 4-2 in their head-to-head series, including two previous wins at the United Cup. But the Pole and his booming serve proved too much for the American.

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Iga Swiatek and Team Poland defeat Team Australia to make United Cup semis

SYDNEY, Australia -- Poland has advanced to the semifinals of the United Cup, defeating host nation Australia in the last quarterfinal tie 2-1. The Polish now seek to avenge their 2025 United Cup final loss to the United States, as they continue their four-year streak of semifinal appearances at the event.

After Iga Swiatek and Alex de Minaur claimed contrasting singles wins for their countries earlier in the evening, Jan Zielinski and Katarzyna Kawa

sealed Poland's victory with a 6-4, 6-0 win over John-Patrick Smith and Storm Hunter in mixed doubles.

Swiatek now has a chance to stop a three-match losing streak to Coco Gauff on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, including a 4-6, 4-6 defeat in last year’s final. Hubert Hurkacz will meet Taylor Fritz, another repeat matchup.

"For sure it's a good match, exciting for the fans," Swiatek said on the match. "But I'll focus on my singles. Obviously we know each other's game pretty well.

"The key for me will be just to focus on myself, try to implement the stuff that I worked on during the preseason and be brave with the decisions."

Swiatek rides plenty of momentum into Saturday evening's semifinal after a 6-1, 6-1 drubbing of Australian No. 1 Maya Joint in Friday's quarterfinal. It marked the World No. 2's second career win against Joint, and she only needed 57 minutes to get the win.

"I had a clear plan of what I wanted to do. I just focused on that," Swiatek said to reporters. "Wanted to be intensive from the beginning, put pressure on Maya, and it worked.

"Every ball mattered. I didn't want to give any free points. I also kind of felt the court a bit better than the last two matches and used of the opportunities that I had."

Joint held serve to have an initial 1-0 lead, but after, the Swiatek show ensued. The six-time Grand Slam champion overwhelmingly controlled the rallies, often forcing Joint to scramble from side-to-side just to keep the rally alive.

Swiatek won six straight games to win the first set in 26 minutes and had garnered "Iga" chants from her Polish supporters early on into the match. Her set point, a cross-court forehand winner that sped past an outstretched Joint, summed up the match best.

In the second, Swiatek and Joint traded holds, the latter of which earned some encouragement from the home crowd. Similarly, Swiatek recaptured the lead with a break, and didn’t look back, en route to her 15th singles win at the competition.

In men's singles, de Minaur produced one of the grittiest opening-set performances of his career, setting up a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win over Hurkacz.

Playing his first tournament since last year’s grass season, Hurkacz was near untouchable in his first three service games when he dropped just one point on serve. But growing increasingly frustrated by his inability to cash in on his chances in return games, his unforced error count ticked up in the closing stages of the set.

After de Minaur saved three break points to level at 4-4, the 26-year-old claimed the decisive break and then won 21 consecutive points on serve before unexpectedly dropping serve at the end of the second set. He then broke early in the third set to secure his eighth victory in 11 singles appearances at the event.

However, though the win leveled the tie, it would ultimately not be enough to advance.

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Iga Swiatek, Hubert Hurkacz and team Poland avenge United Cup loss vs Germany

Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz each posted crucial singles victories Monday as Poland swept Germany in Group F play at the United Cup in Sydney.

After Hurkacz provided the ideal start by upsetting World No. 3 Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-4 in the opening match, Swiatek rallied from a set and a break down to defeat Eva Lysin three sets and clinch the win for Poland. Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski defeated Laura Siegemund and Alexander Zverev a perfect 3-0 evening at Ken Rosewall Arena.

Lys, who had never won more than two games in any of the previous six sets she had played against Swiatek on the WTA Tour driven by Mercedes-Benz, came out aggressively and took the opening set 6-3. The German, coming off a win over Suzan Lamens in her first United Cup match, looked poised for a major upset after breaking for a 3-1 lead in the second set.

Swiatek responded by winning five straight games to take the second set 6-3, then broke again to move ahead 3-1 in the decider. Lys briefly halted the surge by breaking back to level the set at 3-3, but Swiatek steadied and secured the decisive break in the 10th game to close out a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory in just under two-and-a-half hours.

Poland improved to 1-0 in Group F with the win, while Germany dropped to 1-1.

The second-serve performance proved decisive. Swiatek won 52% of her second-serve points, compared to 39% for Lys, while the two players were nearly even on first-serve points won, with Swiatek at 54% and Lys at 53%.

The win improved Swiatek’s United Cup record to 12-2 and marked her 31st victory in her past 32 matches against players ranked outside the top 40.

Earlier in the day, Hurkacz made a statement return to action after missing nearly seven months due to a right knee injury for which he underwent arthroscopic surgery on 2 July.

Hurkacz had not played a match since June in ’s-Hertogenbosch, leading to a fall to No. 83 in the PIF ATP Rankings. But the former World No. 6 played well above his ranking inside Ken Rosewall Arena, facing just one break point in his one-hour, 23-minute victory.

"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.

"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."

The two-time Nitto ATP Finals competitor held up well under pressure against Zverev, beautifully redirecting a backhand up the line to secure the critical break at 3-3 in the second set. Hurkacz faced just one break point in the match according to Infosys ATP Stats, hitting 21 aces to allow his opponent few opportunities to work his way into points.

"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," Hurkacz said. "Just so pleased with the performance and just also so much fun to see the fans again."

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Team Poland ready for another United Cup in Sydney