United Cup: Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz not ruled out for 2026 event

United Cup tournament director Stephen Farrow says conversations are ongoing with men’s superstars Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz as the countdown to the 2026 event begins in earnest. And with reigning Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek already confirmed to return for the cross-city tournament, Farrow was also confident Australian men’s no.1 Alex De Minaur would reacquaint himself with the green and gold early next year. The United Cup will return to Perth and Sydney with a new, later start date of January 2 and the tournament’s line-up has started to take shape. Team Poland were announced as the first team, with women’s world no.2 Swiatek — now a six-time grand slam champion — and former men’s no.6 Hubert Hurkacz committing to play for a fourth-straight year. With the entry deadline has been pushed back to November 10 compared to recent years’ mid-October reveal, the group stage draw is penciled in for November 17. While the make-up of the draw is still up in the air as rankings change hands over the next month, Farrow told The West Australian they were still in discussions with Sinner and Alcaraz, the two young stars who have won the last eight majors between them. “It’s an ongoing conversation at the minute. We want all the best players in the world to play,” he said. “We would love Jannik and Carlos and of course Novak to come back. When Novak played here two years ago in Perth, it was so memorable, particularly when he played on that New Year’s Eve and then counted down to New Year with the crowd afterwards.” While there is no guarantee Perth would see any of the trio should any of them be lured, Farrow was confident they would once again boast a strong line-up. “One thing is for sure; we know we’re going to get a lot of top players playing, and we’ve consistently shown that throughout the history of the competition,” he said. “We know there are plenty of other top players who are going to play that we’re not quite ready to announce just yet.” de Minaur wowed fans when Australia played in Perth in 2024, beating both Djokovic and Taylor Fritz in straight sets and Farrow said the world no.7 loved representing his country. “Alex has given so much to this event. If you look at last year, when Australia didn’t make it through the group stage, his energy and commitment to the event is something else,” he said. “He’s been fantastic and a real star of this competition, and hopefully 2026 will be no different.” Swiatek’s return came as no surprise to Farrow; after Poland fell in the final in Sydney last year, the tournament chief knew she would be back sooner rather than later. “Last year after they lost the final, as I gave her the runners-up medal, she said to me, ‘I’ll be back next year to get the winner’s medal,’” Farrow said. “They are such a great part of this event, the Polish team. They always bring great support, really passionate fans will come and watch them as a group. They’re really engaged with it, they really want to win. It really matters to them.” While who represents the USA is still to be determined, Farrow said all three of the American women in the top five (reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula) were all interested in playing. “On the US front, you’ve got women third, fourth and fifth in the WTA rankings; all three of them really desperately want to play the event,” he said.