The new tennis season is about to begin. The new tennis year traditionally starts in the summer of Down Under and culminates in the Australian Open. Before that, there are some preparation options for the professionals.
The “Battle of the Sexes” between world number one Aryna Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios on Sunday (December 28, 2025) is not yet one of them: The PR event in Dubai is probably the last part of the season preparation for the powerful Belarusian and the extroverted Australian.
Finally, the new tennis season is almost upon us after a short break: The Australian Swing starts immediately after the New Year – and with it another long and intensive tennis year in 2026.
United Cup (January 2-11)
This is the start United Cup. This unique, international tournament for mixed teams (men and women), which was played for the first time at the end of 2022, is now considered a serious preparation event for the players from the 18 participating nations Australian Open (January 18th to February 1st).
For each country comparison there is a men’s singles, a women’s singles and a mixed doubles. The game is played in Sydney and Perth on hard courts in a total of six groups. The three group winners from each city advance to the quarterfinals. Those active can collect up to 500 world ranking points, which significantly increases the appeal of participation. Germany starts the competition against the Netherlands on January 4th in Sydney. The next opponent is Poland.
Alexander Zverev and Eva Lys have been nominated for the DTB team. They are supported by Laura Siegemund and Kevin Krawietz. Patrick Zahraj and Mina Hodzic are also part of the team. The coach is Alexander Zverev Senior.
“I’m looking forward to returning to the United Cup”says Zverev Junior. “It’s always special to start the year here. We won in 2024, which was a really unique moment with the team.” They are the current defending champions USA.
Brisbane, ATP 250 (January 4-11)
The tournament in Brisbane, located in the north-east of Australia, is this year Wildcards for Australian players. For the women, Kimberly Birrell, Ajla Tomljanovic and Talia Gibson each received one of the coveted playing rights from the organizer.
For the men, Aleksandar Vukic will complete the field of participants. Previously, Adam Walton and Kyrgios, who has not taken part in an ATP tournament since the Miami Open 2025 and has fallen far in the world rankings (rank 1291), had one Wildcard receive.
The women’s top players Sabalenka, Madison Keys, Amanda Anisimova (both USA) and Elena Rybakina (KAZ) will also be there in Queensland. The men’s team includes Grigor Dimitrov (BUL), Daniil Medvedev and Alexei Popyrin (AUS).
Adelaide, ATP 250 (January 12-17)
The city of Adelaide is also using the summer in Australia for the sixth time in a row to hold a preparatory tournament for the upcoming one Grand Slam-Event to be held.
The most prominent participant this year is likely to be Novak Djokovic (SBR), who is taking part in this event on the south coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, for the third time.
Also there: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP), Tommy Paul (USA), Stefano Tsitsipas (GRE), Francisco Cerundolo (ARG) and again Popyrin (AUS).
Four of the top 10 players are registered for women: Keys, Jessica Pegula (USA), Mirra Andreeva and Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Auckland, ATP 250 (January 12-17)
The traditional tournament in Auckland (New Zealand) is also one of the events, despite its distance of over 2,000 kilometers from the Australian continent Australian Swing. Once held on grass (until 1977), the metropolis (around 1.6 million inhabitants) has since fought for the title on hard courts.
In the women’s category, Elina Svitolina (UKR) and Emma Navarro (USA) will be the top players. Also on the entry list: Venus Williams (USA).
For men, Gael Monfils is starting his final professional season. However, the now 38-year-old French defending champion has to face strong competition. Tough challenges await, including Casper Ruud (NOR) and Ben Shelton (USA).