Shocking payouts for the $15MILLION United Cup tennis tournament in Australia as the world’s best players including Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas flock to Down Under.
- The inaugural United Cup attracted some of the biggest names in tennis
- The mixed gender tournament offers a combined $15 million in prize money
- Teams from 18 countries in six groups will compete over 11 days in Australia
The inaugural United Cup kicks off the 2023 tennis season on Thursday and has already attracted some of the best players in world tennis with the exciting payouts it offers.
The mixed gender $15m tournament, which will be played in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane over 11 days, has attracted 20 of the best male and female players from around the world.
The first United Cup kicks off the 2023 tennis season on Thursday and has already attracted some of the best players in world tennis with the exciting payouts it offers (Rafael Nadal pictured)
The mixed gender $15m tournament, which will take place in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane over 11 days, has attracted 20 of the best male and female players from around the world (Iga Swiatek pictured)
Competing players include Rafael Nadal, Alex Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas from the ATP tour, and Iga Swiatek, Madison Keys, Maria Sakkari and Caroline Garcia from the WTA.
Tennis officials will offer $3.5million in appearance fees alone, with top players looking for more at the United Cup for showing up than if they reached the second round at the Australian Open.
Players ranked in the top ten will pocket $US200,000 just for playing their group matches – and players ranked 11-20 will walk away with $US100,000.
Every single match played during the tournament has prize money attached to it, which is why players from all over the world flock to the event.
Top Italian player Matteo Berrettini acknowledged the fascination with the big-money tournament when asked about it in front of colleagues this week.
Players in the top ten will pocket $US200,000 just for playing their group matches – and players in 11-20 will walk away with $US100,000 (Stefanos Tsitsipas pictured)
‘Everyone smiled when you said that, see, so it’s good,’ Berrettini told Newscorp.
‘Obviously we’re not just playing for money but it’s important that it’s there.’
The 26-year-old explained that he is also excited about the nature of the tournament.
‘I’ve never played mixed doubles before so it’s going to be exciting,’ she said.
‘I wonder about it and it’s a really cool format.’
The United Cup is the first joint ATP-WTA mixed tournament – where some of the best men and women in the sport will play alongside each other, in teams and against each other in mixed doubles.
Alex de Minaur (pictured) will appear for Team Australia
The 18 countries will be divided into six pools of three teams, with the finals being played in Sydney to conclude the event.
The United Cup replaces the ATP Cup – which was the only men’s tournament that struggled to attract top talent after the COVID-19 shutdown.
