Australia, 19 October 2023 | tennis.com.au

Alex de Minaur and Ajla Tomljanovic will lead a star-studded Australian team at the United Cup this summer.

The first 16 teams for the innovative mixed event, which will be played in Perth and Sydney from 29 December to 7 January 2024, were announced today.

World No.13 De Minaur and Tomljanovic, who has used a protected ranking of No.33 to enter, will be Australia’s No.1 singles players.

They’ll be joined by doubles stars, world No.2 Storm Hunter and world No.6 Matt Ebden, as well as John Millman and Ellen Perez.

A star-studded field, which includes nine of the world’s top 20 men and five of the world’s top 10 women, have entered the United Cup.

Team Poland, led by world No.2 Iga Swiatek and world No.11 Hubert Hurkacz, are the top seeds.

World No.7 Stefanos Tsistipas and world No.6 Maria Sakkari will lead No.2-seeded Greece, with the defending champions, the United States featuring world No.4 Jessica Pegula and 10th-ranked Taylor Fritz, seeded third.

World No.1 Novak Djokovic will make his tournament debut for Serbia, as will reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova for the Czech Republic.

The final two teams set to compete will be announced next month.

> READ: United Cup teams revealed for 2024 summer

“Wow, what a fantastic field we have for the United Cup in 2024,” Tournament Director Stephen Farrow said. “This will be an exciting and unmissable tennis experience this summer.

“The United Cup holds a unique position in global tennis, with the world’s best men and women representing their country at the highest level. For 2024 we are delighted to welcome teams with both massive star power and great depth.

“We can’t wait to see some exciting match-ups between such a high calibre playing field, and lots of entertaining tennis in what promises to be a blockbuster event.”

The United Cup is adopting a new-look format too, with each tie now to be determined in a session. Ties will consist of one men’s singles match, one women’s singles match, followed by a mixed doubles match.

The official draw for the tournament, which will determine each team’s group and city, takes place on Monday 23 October.

Teams will be drawn into six groups of three countries and will compete in a round-robin format.

Group winners in each city advance to the quarterfinals, with one quarterfinal spot in each city awarded to the best runner-up in that city.

Winners then progress to the semifinals and finals in Sydney, which will be played on 6 and 7 January.

Tickets for the United Cup group stage and quarterfinals go on sale at 5pm local time on Wednesday 23 October.

For further information, please visit UnitedCup.com and follow @UnitedCupTennis on social media.

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