After a two-year hiatus, professional tennis returned to Western Australia as Perth co-hosted the inaugural United Cup.
The United Cup, an ATP-WTA event presented in partnership with Tennis Australia, showcased equality at the highest level of the sport, with mixed teams from 18 countries who competed across Brisbane, Perth and Sydney over 11 days.
While there was plenty of action on the court, there was lots of action off-court with Tennis West running an activation zone. Over two thousand kids completed a tennis passport where they found their local tennis club (play.tennis.com.au), had a hit with friends or one of our coaches, guessed the number of tennis balls and answer the question of the day (where there were some funny answers).
A select number of kids from regional and metro tennis clubs were lucky enough to be invited to toss the coin before each match.
Over 150 kids and 24 club coaches received the opportunity to have a hit on centre court with Hot Shots Kids on Court before the start of each day. Tennis West Head of Tennis North Rob Kennedy said “this opportunity is all about creating memorable experiences for the kids, parents and club coaches. To have a hit on centre court at RAC Arena makes the kids feel like the pros for the day. Hopefully one day in the future they’ll get to step out on RAC Arena at the United Cup and be a ball-kid, referee or even play for their country.”
Kids play on RAC Arena between matches on Day 2 of the 2023 United Cup in Perth on Friday, December 30, 2022. PHOTO CREDIT Tennis Australia/ Mark Peterson
On day 2, Tennis West hosted a teachers breakfast where over 50 school teachers from our schools program were able to network with other teachers and hear from United Cup Tournament Director Steven Farrow.
On day 5, Tennis West held the annual Presidents brunch where over 130 club representatives from all parts of the state enjoyed a brunch at the Melbourne Hotel before watching Greece v Belgium. CEO Brett Patten and president Rod Van addressed the group to share how Tennis West and Tennis Australia is tracking.
In the tennis, Perth was lucky enough to host the powerhouse nation of Greece who featured world number four Stefanos Tsitsipas and women’s world number six Maria Sakkari.
Day one of the United Cup started with a bang with Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas going up against Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov. Dimitrov took the first set, but Tsitsipas was too strong winning in a third set tie-break.
Team Greece went through Group A with ease defeating Bulgaria and Belgium and advancing through to the City Final against Croatia. In Group F, Croatia upset France courtesy of world number 144, Borna Gojo defeating world number 46, Adrian Mannarino in three sets and booked a spot in the City Final against Greece.
Perth saw some incredible upsets and come from behind wins. Team Greece’s Stefanos Sakellaridis won his first ATP match against Belgian Zizou Bergs winning in three sets. In Group A, the tie between Bulgaria and Belgium went to a deciding mixed doubles match with Bulgaria clinching their first win coming from a set down and winning a third set tie-breaker.
In the Perth City Final, the tie was decided in the mixed doubles with Greece overcoming a brave Croatian team winning the tie 3-2 and advancing to the United Cup semi-finals in Sydney.
United Cup Perth General Manager Brett Patten highlighted the success of the inaugural United Cup and the great opportunities it gave to get the Perth tennis community involved in a world class event.
“It was great to have world class tennis back in Perth. The final between Greece and Croatia went right down to the wire with a live mixed doubles and it was great to see the Perth crowd and the players get behind the event.”
“I can’t thank the staff, volunteers, ball kids and officials enough for the hard work and countless hours they dedicated to ensure the event was a success and an unforgettable experience for the players and Perth tennis community.”
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