Game in good hands despite high-profile retirements: Farrow; De Minaur, Boulter engaged

The retirement of tennis greats Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Serena Williams has made promoting events more difficult but organisers must grab the opportunity to push new talent into the spotlight, the United Cup’s tournament director said.

The popular $10 million mixed team event aims to do just that when it kicks off the new season on Friday, with tournament chief Stephen Farrow confident the sport is in good hands.

“I always see that as a positive, because it’s on all of us in tennis to tell the story of this new talent.

“We’ve got a lot of them playing the United Cup. They’re incredibly exciting and captivating to watch. I’m not worried about the future.”

Grand Slam contenders Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Iga Swiatek and Coco Guff will all be in action for their countries at the Dec.27-Jan. 5 tournament staged in Perth and Sydney as they prepare for the Australian Open starting on Jan.12.

Farrow also said the United Cup was still building its brand and boosting awareness with fans and players.

“Last year we saw a really big step forward when we moved to a new format with one women’s singles, one men’s singles and one mixed doubles. It was incredibly competitive.

“Now we’ve established ourselves on the tennis calendar two weeks from the Australian Open. We’ve seen with the field this year that players want to play this event.”

Spain take on Kazakhstan while China meet Brazil on the opening day in Perth.

Meanwhile, Australian Open runner-up Zheng Qinwen will kick off her 2025 season at the Grand Slam next month after deciding to skip the United Cup, the 22-year-old said.

Zheng was beaten in the final of the year’s first major by Aryna Sabalenka in January but enjoyed a successful campaign, claiming the Paris Olympics gold medal and WTA Tour titles in Tokyo and Palermo.

The Chinese player, who was runner-up at the Wuhan Open and the WTA Finals, competed in 68 matches this season.

“After the long season that 2024 was for me, I need a few extra weeks of rest, recovery, and good training to get ready for the new season,” Zheng said on Instagram.

“I had such a fantastic time at the United Cup in January of this year, and therefore will miss the event greatly.

“Still, I’m so excited to be back in Australia soon and I will see you all in Melbourne in a couple of weeks.”

China start their campaign in Perth against Brazil on Friday with Gao Xinyu as their number one women’s player.

Earlier, Briton Jack Draper has pulled out of the tournament due to a hip problem but remains confident he will be fit to compete in the Australian Open.

Draper, the world number 15, was replaced in the British team by Jan Choinski, who will be the team’s number two singles player behind Billy Harris.

“As I work to get on top of my hip injury and get match fit, I’ve unfortunately been advised not to play in the United Cup,” Draper said on social media.

“While we’re very positive about competing in the Australian Open ... I won’t be able to jump straight into a packed schedule as I manage and strengthen my hip ... gutted, as I was really looking forward to play in the United Cup for the first time.”

De Minaur, Boulter announce their engagement: Tennis glamour couple Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter have announced their engagement ahead of the start of the 2025 season this week.

The Australian world number nine and Britain’s top women’s player have been dating for several years with their news sparking congratulations from across the tennis world.

“We’ve been keeping a small secret,” the pair jointly said on Instagram late Monday, with Boulter showing off her ring.

Among the well-wishers were women’s stars Paula Badosa and Madison Keys while de Minaur’s fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis quipped: “It’s about damn time.” De Minaur, 25 and Boulter, 28, both enjoyed breakthrough seasons in 2024.

The Australian broke into the top 10 for the first time while Boulter reached a career-high 23.

They both start their 2025 campaigns at the mixed-teams United Cup in Sydney this week.

Agencies