Getting In The Groove! Stars Hit Practice Courts At United Cup

TENNIS AUSTRALIA/Peter Staples

Editor's Note: Nick Kyrgios withdrew from the tournament Wednesday with an ankle injury.

With just two days to go until the inaugural edition of the United Cup, some of the competition's biggest names hit the practice courts Tuesday seeking to find their rhythm ahead of their opening matches.

Nick Kyrgios was among the Team Australia stars hitting in Sydney. The 27-year-old will meet Team Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie in Thursday’s evening session on Ken Rosewall Arena in his first singles match in Group D. Kyrgios is part of a strong lineup for the host nation, which also features Ajla Tomljanovic and Alex de Minaur.

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Also putting herself through her paces in Sydney was two-time Wimbledon champion and WTA star Petra Kvitova. The 29-time tour-level titlist is part of a Team Czech Republic which takes on third-seeded Team USA in its opening tie in Group C. Kvitova will be supported by fellow WTA star Marie Bouzkova, while the Czechs’ ATP contingent is led by clean-hitting 21-year-old Jiri Lehecka.

_{^{Petra Kvitova took to the practice court on Tuesday in Sydney. Photo Credit: Tennis Australia.}}

Some ATP and WTA stars took the chance to practise with teammates from the opposing Tour on Tuesday. One of them was the No. 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Hubert Hurkacz, who hit with his fellow Team Poland stars Magda Linette and Weronika Falkowsa in Brisbane.

The second-seeded Team Poland, which also features WTA World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, takes on Team Kazakhstan in their opening Group B match across Saturday and Sunday.

_{^{Team Poland's Weronika Falkowska and Hubert Hurkacz practised together on Tuesday in Brisbane. Photo Credit: Tennis Australia.}}

In Perth, Stefanos Tsitsipas enjoyed a practice session as he prepares to spearhead the top-seeded Team Greece’s title charge alongside the No. 6 in the WTA Rankings, Maria Sakkari. The current No. 4 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Tsitsipas faces Team Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in his opening singles battle at RAC Arena on Thursday. Sakkari’s opening match follows on Friday, when she meets Viktoriya Tomova in the Group A tie.

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^{_{Stefanos Tsitsipas practises on Tuesday in Perth. Photo Credit: Tennis Australia.}}

The United Cup will launch the 2023 season on both the ATP Tour and the WTA Tour, with 18 nations competing in six groups across Brisbane, Perth and Sydney. Each tie will comprise of two ATP and two WTA singles matches, and one mixed doubles match.