Australian wonder duo and defending champions Nick Kyrgios and Daria Gavrilova are returning to Perth and will join Swiss superstar and 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic for the 29th staging of the Hopman Cup from 1 to 7 January 2017.
Former world No.7 Richard Gasquet will team up with Kristina Mladenovic for France.
Spain’s four-time Davis Cup champion Feliciano Lopez and Lara Arruabarrena will make their Hopman Cup debut.
And Heather Watson is back with world No.56 Daniel Evans to represent Great Britain.
The four teams announced today join American’s Jack Sock and Coco Vandeweghe; the Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova and Adam Pavlasek and Germany’s Alexander Zverev and Andrea Petkovic, as some of the biggest names in tennis are set to start the New Year in Western Australia.
In total, four current top 20 players, nine current top 40 players and nine players who each recorded career-high rankings in 2016 will be vying for the Hopman Cup title in January.
The field boasts seven Grand Slam champions across both singles, doubles and mixed doubles and four Olympic medallists.
Kyrgios and Gavrilova aim to become the first duo to defend their Hopman Cup title in the tournament’s history.
“It was probably one of my favourite events of the year,” Kyrgios, the current world No.15, said.
“The men’s field is very strong coming up. For me Perth is a great place to have it, especially before the Australian Open, the Aussie summer, its perfect conditions and I’m really looking forward to coming back.
“I think there is a little bit of pressure there. You know a lot of people want to win that event, it’s a lot of fun and there has been some great champions there.
“Australia hadn’t won it for a long, long time so to be coming back there it’s pretty exciting to be defending the title.”
Twenty-two-year-old Gavrilova really enjoyed her time in Perth and is looking forward to returning.
“I’m super excited to come back to Perth for the Hopman Cup. I really enjoyed my time there, the city, the arena is unbelievable, I can’t wait,” Gavrilova, who reached a career high ranking of 32 in May, said.
“It was really fun playing with Nick, teaming up with him. He is a really good team mate, and as you would know he is a really funny guy.
“It would be unbelievable to win it again, the title, the whole thing. It would be incredibly tough, we did it last year and we are going to give it our best shot…”
French world No.17 and 2012 Hopman Cup finalist Gasquet has great memories of the tournament and will be looking to better his results in Perth.
“It’s an incredible tournament. It’s well organised. I remember I played 2012, I reached the final,” Gasquet said.
“It was great memories, I started perfectly the season, I can play three matches there and it is the best preparation for Melbourne. I want to be in Australia, and Perth is an incredible city, it’s very nice, it’s wonderful… that is why I want to come back there.
“The crowd was amazing, many people cheering for Australia and for France. It’s a nice city, Australian people are very kind. Especially those in Perth really like tennis.”
Hopman Cup Tournament Director Paul Kilderry is delighted with the confirmed field for 2017.
“Four top 20 players and nine top 40 players will be in Perth in January,” Kilderry said.
“We have Roger Federer, 17-time Grand Slam champion and one of the greatest tennis players of all time, returning to Perth for the first time in 15 years.
“Nick Kyrgios and Daria Gavrilova will be back to defend their title for Australia. The public loved these two and I’m sure they’ll be looking forward to putting on a show for the fans next year.
“We also welcome men’s tour powerhouses Richard Gasquet and Feliciano Lopez to the field, along with fan favourites Heather Watson and Kristina Mladenovic.”
ITF President David Haggerty added: “The ITF is excited about the outstanding line-up of teams playing in the 29th edition of the Hopman Cup.
“Fans at the wonderful Perth Arena will see some of the greatest champions in our sport along with exciting new stars making their mark in tennis.
“Our 2017 competition includes Roger Federer and Petra Kvitova and will attract huge audiences around the world and I look forward to my first Hopman Cup as ITF President with great anticipation.”
2017 field (ATP and WTA rankings as of 3 October 2016):
| Australia | [15] Nick Kyrgios and [49] Daria Gavrilova |
| Czech Republic | [85] Adam Pavlasek and [11] Petra Kvitova |
| France | [17] Richard Gasquet and [57] Kristina Mladenovic |
| Germany | [24] Alexander Zverev and [44] Andrea Petkovic |
| Great Britain | [56] Daniel Evans and [76] Heather Watson |
| Spain | [28] Feliciano Lopez and [61] Lara Arruabarrena |
| Switzerland | [7] Roger Federer and [43] Belinda Bencic |
| USA | [25] Jack Sock and [40] Coco Vandeweghe |
2017 draw
| Group A | [1] Switzerland
[4] France Germany Great Britain |
Group B | [2] USA
[3] Australia Czech Republic Spain |
The 2017 schedule of play can be found here.
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