Tennis News

De Minaur braces for Hurkacz test in United Cup QF

Will Alex de Minaur be the next player caught in Hubert Hurkacz’s United Cup serving barrage when the pair meets in Sydney on Friday?

The 28-year-old Pole has made an emphatic return from a seven-month injury layoff, firing 21 aces in each of his two-set wins over World No. 3 Alexander Zverev and Tallon Griekspoor. Backed by teammate Iga Swiatek — who has also won both of her singles matches — Team Poland, two-time defending runner-up, has surged into its third straight quarter-final.

Standing in their way is home favourite Team Australia, spearheaded by De Minaur and 19-year-old rising star Maya Joint. The tie gets underway with the women’s singles at 5:30 p.m. local time.

De Minaur can draw confidence from his 2-1 Lexus ATP Head2Head edge over Hurkacz, including a win in their most recent meeting at Indian Wells last year. Since then, Hurkacz has undergone knee surgery and is competing as the No. 85 in the PIF ATP Rankings, but his performances in Sydney have underlined why he is a former Top 10 player.

After reaching the semi-finals of the Nitto ATP Finals in November, De Minaur opened his 2026 campaign with a straight-sets loss to Casper Ruud. He quickly rebounded against Czechia, however, pulling double duty to propel Australia into the quarter-finals. Hurkacz is well aware of the challenge ahead.

“Alex has been very successful in the past years,” Hurkacz said of De Minaur, who is at a career-high World No. 6. “He’s really quick, moves around the court incredibly well. It’s going to be a good challenge, especially with the Aussie crowd. It’s going to be a lot of fun, and I’m excited for the match.”

Ace machine 😮‍💨

Of course Hubi gets our @Nexo #serveoftheday!#nexo pic.twitter.com/8tQYNUTm1d

— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 7, 2026

Swiatek needed just 66 minutes to dispatch Joint in their only previous meeting in Seoul last September, but the six-time major champion is not taking anything for granted. While the Australian teenager will enjoy strong home support, Swiatek may have won over a few local fans with her glowing assessment of Sydney following her three-set win against Eva Lys on Monday.

“I love being here,” Swiatek said. “I could honestly live here — I love Sydney. I wasn’t sure, but I think it’s becoming my favourite city in the whole world. I really have fun here.”

If the singles matches are split, the tie will be decided by a mixed doubles rubber.

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Mmoh summons deja-vu in Khachanov upset, Bublik wins in Hong Kong

Michael Mmoh continued his statement start to 2026 on Thursday at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open, where he upset familiar foe Karen Khachanov 7-6(2), 7-6(4) to reach the quarter-finals.

The American qualifier notched just two wins on the ATP Tour in 2025, but with his straight-sets victory over the fourth-seeded Khachanov, he has already matched that number in the first week of the new season. It marked Mmoh’s first win over a Top 20 opponent since 2023, when he also moved past Khachanov at the US Open.

Moving on! 💪

Michael Mmoh takes out Khachanov 7-6 7-6 to advance in Hong Kong.#BOCHKTO2026 pic.twitter.com/0vdC3atkEk

— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 8, 2026

“Funnily enough, my first ITF junior win was against Karen Khachanov, so we’ve been battling from the age of 14,” said Mmoh, who now leads World No. 17 Khachanov 2-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. “He’s a great guy who’s had an unbelievable career, so just to share the court with him, I knew I needed to play at the highest level possible.”

Mmoh, the No. 285 in the PIF ATP Rankings, failed to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set, but regrouped in a tidy tie-break to advance to his seventh ATP Tour quarter-final. The 27-year-old will next face countryman Marcos Giron, who earlier upset seventh seed and defending champion Alexandre Muller 6-4, 7-6(4).

Earlier, Chinese lefty Shang Juncheng became the first player to reach all three Hong Kong quarter-finals since the ATP 250 returned in 2024. The 20-year-old hit 24 winners in his 6-3, 6-4 victory over fifth seed Lorenzo Sonego.

Shang, who missed six months of the 2025 season due to a foot injury, will next face second seed Alexander Bublik, who opened his 2026 with a laser-focused 6-3, 6-3 win over Botic van de Zandschulp.

Bublik finished 2025 with a 30-9 record since Roland Garros, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, highlighted by titles in Halle, Gstaad and Kitzbuehel. Now at a career-high World No. 11, the Kazakhstani doesn’t seem to want to let that form slip as he starts his 2026 quest.

“We tried many things before arriving here,” Bublik said of his preseason. “You never know what’s going to happen [in the first match]. We chose a tactic, we stuck to it, and I played well, so I’m really happy with the way I performed.”

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Players 'not protected' over 'insane' schedule – Sabalenka

World number one Aryna Sabalenka says tennis authorities “follow their interests” with regards to the tennis calendar and are not “focusing on protecting all of us”.

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Can Belgium channel ‘Sydney vibes’ to hold off Czechia in United Cup QF?

After upsetting World No. 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime inside Ken Rosewall Arena on Tuesday, Zizou Bergs could only point to his environment when asked to explain Team Belgium’s impressive run so far at the 2026 United Cup.

“Sydney vibes, you know,” said Bergs in his post-match press conference. On Thursday, the No. 42 in the PIF ATP Rankings will hope to keep that positive feeling in the New South Wales capital going when he and his teammates take on Team Czechia in the quarter-finals of the mixed teams event.

Bergs takes on his fellow ATP Tour star Jakub Mensik in the opening singles rubber at 5:30 p.m. local time, before his countrywoman Elise Mertens meets Barbora Krejcikova in the WTA Tour singles. A mixed doubles clash will be played to decide the tie, should the teams split the singles matches, with the winner to face Switzerland in Saturday’s semi-finals.

Lining up in the last eight seemed an unlikely prospect for Belgium after it fell to defeat to China in their opening match at the United Cup, but a 3-0 upset of second seed Canada earned them top spot in Group B. Mertens downed teenage sensation Victoria Mboko in three sets to keep her team on track for a crucial clean sweep.

“I know we had to win this tie with a three-love,” said Mertens after that win. “I think you still focus on your own game, what you can do. You give yourself 100 per cent, which we did. The team behind me gave me a lot of energy.”

Meanwhile Czechia also qualified for the quarter-finals with a 1-1 group-stage record, after following a 3-0 triumph against Norway with a 1-2 defeat to host country Australia. The 20-year-old Mensik will hope to set the tone in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with Bergs, before another first-time meeting, somewhat remarkably, between two-time major champion Krejcikova and Mertens.

The 30-year-old veterans have played more than 1,200 singles matches combined in their career, yet have never faced each other. Like Bergs, Krejickova will also look to the team spirit behind her for inspiration as she bids to maintain her perfect record in singles matches so far this year in Sydney.

“I’m really happy that I’m part of this event, this nice competition where we have a team,” said the Czech earlier this week. “I think we have a really good atmosphere on the team, and it’s been working really well. It’s an honour to be here and to experience this.”

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Home hope Wong wins again in Hong Kong, faces Musetti in QFs

Coleman Wong continued his history-making run at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open on Wednesday, when he battled past Gabriel Diallo to secure his quarter-final spot.

The day after he overcame Mariano Navone to become the first man representing Hong Kong to win a main-draw match in tournament history, the 21-year-old Wong prevailed 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 against Diallo to reach the last eight. The No. 150 in the PIF ATP Rankings, wild card Wong saved 11 of 15 break points he earned, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to a two-hour, 29-minute triumph.

“It sounds unreal,” said Wong, when reflecting on becoming the first ATP Tour quarter-finalist from Hong Kong in the Open Era. “So many people came to support me today. Gabriel is such a great player. We pushed each other to the limit and in the end, I was 5-2 but he came back to 5-5. I was like, ‘Wow, I don’t know if I can close this out’. I just kept believing in myself, kept believing in what I’ve been working on these past years.

“It’s not easy to be an athlete from Hong Kong and coming from such a small place. Being in the quarter-finals of an ATP event, I just want to keep going.”

Standing in Wong’s way for a semi-final spot at the ATP 250 will be top seed Lorenzo Musetti. The Italian rallied past Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals in Hong Kong for the second consecutive year.

Musetti now leads Etcheverry 3-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. The 23-year-old, who finished 2025 with a debut appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals, has risen one spot above Felix Auger-Aliassime to No. 6 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings after winning his Hong Kong opener.

Nuno Borges was also a second-round winner in Hong Kong on Wednesday. The Portuguese downed former World No. 3 Marin Cilic 7-5, 6-3 to set a quarter-final meeting with 2024 champion and third seed Andrey Rublev, who began his 2026 season by sinking Wu Yibing 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the final match of the day.

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Bencic gives Switzerland lead against Argentina in United Cup QF

Swiss player Belinda Bencic continued her strong start to the new season with a straight-sets win over Argentina’s Solana Sierra, giving Switzerland a 1-0 lead in its United Cup quarter-final tie in Perth on Wednesday.

Bencic, ranked No. 11 in the WTA Tour Drive by Mercedez-Benz rankings, broke serve in the third game of the opening set. The second set followed a similar pattern, with Bencic breaking again in the third game and seventh games before sealing a 6-2, 6-2 win in one hour, 17 minutes.

The 28-year-old has now won all three of her singles matches at the United Cup in straight sets, having also defeated France’s Leolia Jeanjean and Italy’s Jasmine Paolini during the group stage. She has also won both her mixed doubles matches this week.

Bencic, who returned from maternity leave towards the end of the 2024 season, surged from No. 421 in early January to No. 11 in the year-end rankings. She captured titles in Abu Dhabi and Tokyo and reached the semifinals at Wimbledon.

Switzerland will look to secure a place in the semifinals when three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka faces Sebastian Baez in the second singles match of the tie.

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Pain-free and perfect in Perth: Tsitsipas on ‘the biggest bliss’, despite Greece exit

The United Cup is over for this year for Team Greece, but Stefanos Tsitsipas is hopeful the 2026 edition of the mixed teams event represents the start of something new in his career.

The 27-year-old ATP Tour star finished with a 3-0 singles record for his country at RAC Arena in Perth, where he on Wednesday downed Team USA’s Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-5 for his first Top 10 victory in more than 18 months. Despite the Americans going on to clinch the tie with a deciding mixed-doubles triumph at RAC Arena, Tsitsipas was happy to reflect on the positives after he sank Fritz to improve to 4-2 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

“Pleased with the win. It was not easy getting into the match. I’ve been absent for a long time and matches like this challenge you to the fullest,” Tsitsipas, who had not played a competitive match since September due to a back injury prior to arriving in Perth, told ATPTour.com. “I feel like you really get tested in the most brutal and intense ways against players that have been very consistent in the past couple of months. Taylor is one of them. I was aware entering the court that my focus levels needed to be at their highest.

“I couldn’t allow myself to disconnect at any given moment during the match, and I delivered that excellently. My focus levels were there. I was trying to read play, trying to read the court and see what patterns he might start building up and liking a little bit more. I tried to stay away from those and played my game. Very offensive tennis. I dominated from the baseline at times. I felt like I was pretty solid in those rally exchanges. I’m very glad about my performance. It is one of those wins that adds to my confidence.”

Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari were unable to overcome Coco Gauff and Christian Harrison in the mixed doubles clash as Greece missed out on a spot in the semi-finals in Sydney. Yet the 12-time ATP Tour champion Tsitsipas feels both he and his countrywoman would be taking plenty away from the encounter.

“I spoke to Maria. I’m very proud of her, she did excellently. I’m happy that I got to share the court with her,” said the No. 34 in the PIF ATP Rankings. “We are building a great duo, me and her. I feel like every doubles match that we get to play, we come to new realisations about our games. We blend in quite well, and I feel like every match we’ve played, we’ve always received feedback and always understood how our games can interact even better.

“Obviously it sucks losing today and not capturing that win to go to Sydney, but I see that as a greater opportunity to grow from it, use it in a positive way, and hopefully come back next year with hunger.”

Tsitsipas, who revealed he is hoping to play the Adelaide International before heading to Melbourne for the Australian Open, was also elated at the way his body had held up across three singles matches and two mixed doubles rubbers in Perth.

“So far everything is good,” said the 2023 Australian Open finalist, when asked about how he felt physically. “It’s great feedback, knowing that sort of thing, knowing that I’m not feeling any aches or pains. I’m actually very pleased that I get to enjoy tennis daily, without any discomfort and pain that might be causing me more stress in everyday life… I’m super glad I get to play the sport that I love. Health is the most important thing in the world. I’m really truly enjoying every single match that I get to play pain free.

“I haven’t had that in a while, so to be able to play that way creates happiness and satisfaction, and makes me want to go back to train. Especially when you are dealing with so much pain and especially in the lower back, you are very discouraged pretty quick when you see yourself a few times in that same situation. Training doesn’t become as enjoyable anymore. To be able to do that right now is like the biggest bliss.”

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'No idea what just happened' – GB's Jones battles injury in Auckland win

Britain’s Francesca Jones says she had “no idea what just happened” after battling injury to reach the Auckland Classic quarter-finals.

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Medvedev continues impressive Tiafoe record, Lehecka retires with injury in Brisbane

Daniil Medvedev maintained his impressive Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Frances Tiafoe on Wednesday at the Brisbane International presented by ANZ to reach his 90th tour-level quarter-final.

Medvedev did not face a break point and won 91 per cent (31/34) of his first-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to recording a comfortable 6-3, 6-2 win in 61 minutes.

The top seed, who is chasing his 22nd tour-level trophy this week, now leads Tiafoe 6-1 in the pair’s Head2Head series, with all seven of their meetings coming on hard courts.

“The court is pretty fast so you need to serve well and I am happy with the way I served,” Medvedev said. “I thought I played much better than in the first round, didn’t face a break point, and that puts a lot of pressure on the opponent. I had a couple of good games on his serve and that was enough today.”

Medvedev has fond memories in Brisbane, having advanced to the final in his only other previous appearance in 2019. The No. 13 player in the PIF ATP Rankings has yet to drop a set through his first two matches of 2026 and will aim to continue that form against Kamil Majchrzak. The Pole beat Reilly Opelka 6-7(2), 7-6(7), 7-6(8), saving three match points.

In a battle between good friends, American Alex Michelsen overcame countryman Learner Tien 6-4, 6-2. The 21-year-old Michelsen trained with Tien during their teenage years and has had the better of the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion since their first meeting in Jeddah 13 months ago. Michelsen leads Tien 3-1 in their Head2Head series.

Michelsen will meet Sebastian Korda in the quarter-finals. The 25-year-old advanced after the defending champion Jiri Lehecka was forced to retire due to an ankle injury, with Korda leading 6-3, 1-2.

Korda has performed impressively in Australia in the past, reaching the final in Adelaide in 2023 and 2025 and the quarter-finals at the Australian Open in 2023.

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Massu on Hurkacz's comeback: 'Nothing is impossible if you maintain the work ethic'

Before the United Cup, former World No. 9 Nicolas Massu spoke with his player, Hubert Hurkacz. The Pole was readying for his first tournament in seven months thanks to a knee injury that required surgery last July.

The message from the Chilean was clear.

“Enjoy the competition again,” Massu told Hurkacz. “Look back at where you’ve been, and all that you passed already in the past seven months. You deserve to be here. Appreciate that. Enjoy the moment. Go step by step, not thinking too much about the results.”

Since then, Hurkacz has made a dream start to his comeback in Sydney, earning straight-sets victories against World No. 3 Alexander Zverev and Tallon Griekspoor to help Poland reach the quarter-finals of the mixed-teams event.

“I’m really, really happy because we had difficult times. And when you are out of competition seven months — it is a lot of time — you need to be patient,” Massu said. “You need to be strong. It’s not too easy because sometimes you want to just start to think about the tournaments. You are missing weeks and then there is a slow recovery.”

Although Hurkacz’s game has been sharp inside Ken Rosewall Arena, claiming his 20th win against a Top-10 opponent according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, that does not mean recent months have been perfect. It has been far from it for the Pole, who in two consecutive seasons underwent knee surgery.

“It’s not easy to maintain the faith all the time because the days are long, it’s a lot of treatment, a lot of recovery,” Massu said. “But at the same time, I’m totally convinced — because I had this in my so many years of Tour, so many years in tennis — that at some point, if you keep strong and you believe and you work hard, you deserve it.”

Massu made clear that Hurkacz has done everything in his power to not only recover physically, but to prepare for his comeback. From Marbella and Malaga to Monaco and Poland, Hurkacz has worked exhaustively to put himself in position for moments like he has experienced in the past week.

“It’s incredible, the work ethic of Hubi. He follows everything 100 per cent. If he has to do this, he does that and more,” Massu said. “It’s not only on the court, it’s outside of the court: how he takes care of the food, of the treatment, all the stretching. So I think that when you work like this, the [positive] things need to come back. You deserve to have these kinds of results.”

For Hurkacz every day was the same. Early mornings, late nights and a lot of hard work. There were moments of pain and fatigue. But as the coach explained, “these things are hard”.

“My experience from my life and from my tennis career is that everything that is strong against you or sometimes it is dark, at the end of the tunnel, you see the light,” Massu said. “You need to keep the faith.”

The two-time Olympic gold medalist returned to Chile for about three months before returning to Europe in September to help the Pole resume on-court training. They took things quite slowly, prioritising listening to Hurkacz’s doctors and physio. A key was to not rush.

“Everything that we needed to do, we were doing, and we were listening to the right people,” Massu said. “We were strong in the difficult moments and I think that the whole thing for me, from my point of view, that I wanted, is to see him again on the court competing.”

Hurkacz is just getting started. While he hopes to maintain his great early form this week in Sydney, the overall comeback has just begun. Massu very much believes in his charge.

“I always believe that nothing is impossible if you maintain the work ethic, if you maintain your positive mind,” Massu said. “At some point, you will recover.”

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