United Cup 2024 draw: Defending champions USA drawn alongside Great Britain and Australia, Serbia get Czech Republic

Modified Oct 23, 2023 06:12 GMT

From L-R: Taylor Fritz, Novak Djokovic and Jessica Pegula.

The draw for the 2024 United Cup was revealed on Monday, with 18 teams being divided into six groups of three. The tournament will begin on December 29, 2023, and conclude on January 7, 2024. Defending champions USA are part of Group C, along with the UK and home favorites Australia.

The American squad consists of top 10 players Taylor Fritz and Jessica Pegula, along with Denis Kudla, Alycia Parks, Rajeev Ram, and Desirae Krawczyk. The British team members include Cameron Norrie, Katie Boulter, Dan Evans, Francesca Jones, Neal Skupski, and Maia Lumsden.

Alex de Minaur, Ajla Tomljanovic, Storm Hunter, Matthew Ebden, John Millman, and Ellen Perez are part of the Australian contingent. The hosts were bundled out of the tournament in the group stage last year.

The Americans have been handed a tough draw as the Brits and the Australians have a solid line-up of players to threaten them. Team USA were a dominant force in the previous edition and lost just two matches out of the 24 ties they played.

Fritz and Pegula lost those two matches, with the former going down to Norrie and the latter being bested by Petra Kvitova. The defending champions certainly have their task cut out for them this time around.

These three teams will contest all of their matches in Perth, along with the teams in Groups A and E. Group A comprises Poland, Spain, and a yet-to-be-shortlisted team, while Group E consists of the Czech Republic, China, and Serbia.

Novak Djokovic led Serbia to take on Czech Republic and China in the group stage of the 2024 United Cup

Novak Djokovic will be making his United Cup debut.

After missing the last edition of the United Cup, Novak Djokovic will make his tournament debut this time. He'll spearhead the Serbian team, which consists of Olga Danilovic and Hamad Medjedovic, among others.

They'll face some tough competition from China and the Czech Republic in their group. Both countries have some capable players in their ranks, such as Qinwen Zheng, Zhizhen Zhang, Jiri Lehecka, and reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.

While the aforementioned teams will play in Perth, Sydney will host the remaining three groups. Group B is made up of Greece, Canada, and a yet-to-be-determined team. Players like Stefanos Tsitsipas, Maria Sakkari, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Leylah Fernandez will be in action from this batch of teams.

Group D includes France, Germany, and last year's runner-ups Italy. Three-time Major champion Angelique Kerber will return to the tour to lead the Germans alongside Alexander Zverev.

Croatia, Norway, and the Netherlands were bunched together in Group F. The Croats will be the favorites to make it out of this group, but Casper Ruud-led Norway could also spring a surprise.

The 2024 United Cup team line-ups are as follows:

Perth