ATP Tour

Auger-Aliassime & Mboko 'really excited' for United Cup after visit with kangaroos & koalas

Team Canada and Team China took the time to explore Sydney Wednesday before the start of the United Cup, visiting the Sydney Zoo where they interacted with kangaroos and koalas.

The Canadians in attendance were Auger-Aliassime, rising WTA star Victoria Mboko, Alexis Galarneau and Kayla Cross. One year ago, Mboko was outside the Top 300 in the PIF WTA Rankings. She enters the United Cup as World No. 18.

"I’m really excited. This is my first time playing such an event and playing the whole Australia swing, so there are a lot of new experiences and so many new things to come," Mboko said. "I’m excited to play United Cup. It’s a really fun event and to be here with Felix and the team, it’s really great."

Auger-Aliassime is flying higher than ever at No. 5 in the PIF ATP Rankings. A winner of 50 matches during the 2025 season, the Canadian will try to make a quick start to the new year Down Under. He is serving as playing captain for Team Canada.

"I have great memories playing in the past team events here in Australia," Auger-Aliassime said. "We actually won with our team [the ATP Cup] in Sydney a couple years back, so it would be nice to get a win again."

The Team China members who visited the Sydney Zoo were former WTA No. 31 Zhu Lin, Zhang Zhizhen (second from right), Te Rigele (far right), Wang Aoran (far left) and captain Wu Di (second from left).

Zhang and Zhu lead the way for the Chinese. Zhang has played the United Cup in each of the past two seasons, tallying a 1-2 singles mark each time. He is proud to represent his country on a global stage.

"This is always different. Also that is why United Cup is a little bit different [from] other tournaments," Zhang said. "You have to fight for every point, even if you get one more point or one more set you are helping your team."

Action in Sydney begins on 3 January. Click here to find out who is competing in the mixed-teams event.