Poland takes revenge on the United States and reaches the final of the United Cup | ATP tour | Tennis

United Cup

Poland takes revenge on the United States and reaches the final of the United Cup

Poland will play Switzerland in the final on Sunday, where a new champion will be crowned
January 10, 2026

Poland have advanced to their third successive United Cup final after avenging their defeat in last year’s championship match against the United States in Sydney on Saturday evening.

Hubert Hurkacz put the two-time runner-up on course for victory with a 7-6(1), 7-6(2) win over Taylor Fritz – the second Top 10 scalp of his comeback tournament. Coco Gauff then leveled the semi-finals with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Iga Swiatek before Jan Zielinski and Katarzyna Kawa defeated Gauff and Christian Harrison 7-6(5), 7-6(3) in the deciding mixed.

Both teams were undefeated in the do-or-die rubber, but Zielinski imposed himself on the match with an ultra-aggressive mentality. The Americans served twice for the second set and held three set points at 6-5 40/15, but were dismissed.

In Sunday’s final [5.30pm AEDT] Poland will play Switzerland, which advanced when the mixed doubles team of Belinda Bencic and Jakub Paul also won the tournament’s mixed doubles for the fourth time in a row.

Despite his own heroics, Zielinski was quick to praise teammate Hurkacz, who is playing his first tournament since a knee injury ended his 2025 season last June.

“First of all, hats off to Hubert, who is playing incredible tennis in his first tournament in seven months and inspiring us to play like we did today,” Zielinski said. ‘He is an inspiration to all of us.

“Tomorrow there will be a lot of emotions and hopefully we can show our best tennis.”

Earlier, Hurkacz continued a dream start to his comeback with a 7-6(1), 7-6(2) victory against Taylor Fritz.

“Obviously playing Taylor is such a big challenge and it’s a very difficult match, especially on this court, it’s quite fast. He serves very powerfully. Moreover, his forehand is very big, so if you leave something short, he comes after it,” Hurkacz told ATP No. 1 Club Jim Courier. “I felt like I was playing pretty solid myself. I tried to be more aggressive. During my free time, I watched some of my previous matches and listened to your commentary. It’s a good help for players too!”

Competing in the mixed-team event, Hurkacz wasn’t sure what to expect after missing seven months due to a knee injury that required surgery. But in his first action since June last year, the former No. 6 player in the PIF ATP Rankings played dominant, big-time tennis to help take his country to the brink of the championship match against Switzerland.

The 28-year-old has now defeated Alexander Zverev, Tallon Greekpoor and Fritz in Sydney, with all three wins coming 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.

“Definitely pleasantly surprised because I haven’t played in so long. In seven months, [this is] my first tournament. So when I come back from such a long period for the first time in my life, you never know what to expect. On the other hand, I’ve put in so much work off the court, so I’m giving myself time to get back to my level, to an even better level. Perhaps this week’s slightly lower expectations also helped.”

Fritz led Hurkacz 4-2 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series as they took to the field in sweltering heat, including two previous United Cup victories. But the Pole and his flourishing service proved too much for the American.

Fritz’s biggest chance came with two set points in hand after Hurkacz’s serve, but the Pole nullified those chances with huge serves. Hurkacz hit a critical backhand passing shot early in each of the two tie-breaks to take the lead and rose from there.

In her singles, Gauff showed her dominance at its finest in a 6-4, 6-2 win over world No. 2 Iga Swiatek. The semi-final tie – a repeat of last year’s final – now goes to a mixed doubles decider to determine who will face Switzerland in Sunday’s final.

“I didn’t miss the opportunities I had the first two times I had match points,” said the world number 4, who won on the fourth match point. “She played well. Maybe there was one mistake with the backhand, but after that she played the better tennis, but I knew if I played the whole match I could get it done.”

Gauff, playing her 16th match against Swiatek on the WTA Tour, recorded her fourth straight victory over her rival. That includes a 6-4, 6-4 victory in last year’s United Cup, as well as wins in Madrid and the 2024 WTA Finals.

The two rivals initially traded a few points as Gauff, serving first, took a 2-1 lead before scoring the first strike of the match. She broke Swiatek and supported him with a hold, gaining a 4-1 lead, but the Pole quickly found herself back in the set.

Swiatek won 12 consecutive points and won three games in a row at 4-4. She had the momentum, but Gauff remained calm and composed the remainder of the 43-minute first set. She held serve and in Swiatek’s subsequent service game, the American No. 1 needed just one set point to close out the match.

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

In the second and fourth games, Gauff needed three and four break point chances respectively to secure the match as they both ended up in a long deuce. In the fourth, Swiatek even had several game points, but in the last two points, Swiatek’s shots went far and wide, something that happened a lot on Saturday evening.

It was not the same Swiatek who defeated Maya Joint 6-1, 6-1 a day earlier, but a composed Gauff remained in complete control throughout the match to keep her country alive in the semi-final.