Emma Raducanu’s first tournament of 2026 tennis season confirmed
Emma Raducanu has decided to move away from the traditional events to kick off her tennis season as she will feature in a team competition at the start of her 2026 WTA Tour campaign.
The 2021 US Open winner has decided to join forces with Jack Draper to represent Great Britain at the season-opening United Cup, which will be staged in Sydney and Perth from January 2-11.
“I’m honoured to be able to make my United Cup debut in January,” Raducanu said. “Being able to play for Team GB with my team-mates is a unique opportunity and week to enjoy.
“It’s great to be able to experience a new format on the tour, represent my country and spend a couple extra weeks in Australia.”
It is a change in strategy from the 22-year-old as she opted to start her season in New Zealand the past three years, as she signed up for the ASB Classic in Auckland – although she was a last-minute withdrawal ahead of her first match in January this year – while in 2022 she played at the Sydney International.
Draper will also make his debut at the United Cup as he played at the Adelaide International in 2023 and 2024 while he kicked off his 2025 campaign at the Australian Open.
“I am excited to get back on court and compete in the United Cup. I’ll be looking out for the draw to see if Team GB will play in Perth or Sydney,” Draper said. “I haven’t been to either so it will be nice to compete in a brand new city in Australia.”
Both Raducanu and Draper were forced to end their seasons early as the latter has been out of action since September as he brought the curtain down on his campaign after the US Open due to an arm injury.
Raducanu, meanwhile, played four events on the Asia swing but then withdrew from her final two tournaments of the year due to health reasons.
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The 2026 United Cup will be the fourth edition of the tournament that features mixed-gender teams from 18 countries with the United States winning the inaugural campaign in 2023 and the 2025 tournament while Germany won in 2024.
The tournament consists of six groups with three countries and the teams phase each other in a round-robin format, featuring one men’s and one women’s singles amtch, and a mixed doubles match.
Teams are made up of six players – two ATP singles players, two WTA singles players, one ATP doubles player and one WTA doubles player.
Raducanu and Draper’s team-mates are still to be confirmed, but the Great Britain team were represented by Billie Harris, Jan Choinski, Katie Boulter, Lily Miyazaki, Charles Broom and Olivia Nicholls in 2025.
Team GB topped their group this year to reach the quarter-final, but then lost against Poland.
Other big-name players who have already signed up for the 2026 edition are Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz for Poland while Alex de Minaur and Maya Joint will represent hosts Australia.
