United Cup: Perth misses Alex de Minaur as Coco Gauff and Stefanos Tsitsipas head to Washington

Perth tennis fans will miss the chance to support Australian star Alex de Minaur this summer as his home country plays in Sydney rather than Washington in the United Cup.

Coco Gauff and Stefanos Tsitsipas headline the international stars who will take to the RAC Arena, but world number nine de Minaur and WA doubles ace Matt Ebden will not be among them.

It is a blow for the Perth star power after de Minaur, Serbian great Novak Djokovic and then women’s world number one Iga Swiatek were the main attractions at last year’s WA tournament.

World number three Gauff will partner men’s world number six Taylor Fritz in a formidable US pairing in the group stage match from December 27 to 31.

After a great 2024, which saw her reach the Australian Open final and win Olympic gold, Zheng Qingwen will begin her season in Perth for the second year in a row, again partnering Zhang Zhizen for Team China.

Having played in Perth two years ago, Stefano Tsitsipas will return to Washington as Greece’s top seed in Group C alongside Kazakhstan, which includes world No. 5 and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, and Spain.

Another man who is no stranger to Perth is Zverev, and the German will be his country’s top card in Group E, where Germany will face China and Brazil.

For the second year in a row, Australia will take on Great Britain, where de Minaur will face his teammate, world No. 45 Katie Boulter, but this time in Sydney rather than Perth.

Crowds filled the RAC Arena for several matches last year, including De Minaur’s impressive win over Djokovic, which helped Australia beat Serbia in the quarter-finals.

The RAC Arena will host two quarter-finals on New Year’s Day, followed by the semi-finals and final in Sydney.

Even more to come