United Cup tournament director Stephen Farrow is confident the future of the event is rock solid despite the debate over the crowded tennis calendar and Saudi Arabia’s interest in launching an ATP Masters event early in the season.
The $10mn mixed team tournament, the result of a partnership between Tennis Australia and the ATP and WTA tours, kicks off its third edition in Perth on Dec 27, just 33 days after the Davis Cup finals conclude in Spain.
Farrow has sympathy with players like Carlos Alcaraz who have warned of an increase in injuries and burnout because of the long season but said the field attracted by the United Cup suggested the late December start was not a major issue.
“I think we’d all agree that a longer off-season is a good thing for professional athletes,” he told Reuters at the draw for the tournament.
“(But) the players are desperate to come here as soon as they can and start their season. In the back of my mind I thought starting on Dec 27, maybe that would be a challenge for us, but it hasn’t proven to be.
“They want to get here to acclimatise to play these big events before the Australian Open.”
Another potential driver to change in the landscape of the game is Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is widely reported to have ambitions of owning a 10th ATP Masters tournament to be played before the Australian Open.
That would clearly play havoc with Tennis Australia’s lead-in tournaments to the year’s first Grand Slam, which include the United Cup and WTA-ATP tournaments in Brisbane and Adelaide.
Farrow, though, is confident that the current agreements with the professional tours are built on extremely solid foundations.
Tournament Director Stephen Farrow, former tennis player Casey Dellacqua, Australia team captain Lleyton Hewitt, host Todd Woodbridge, and Sydney General Manager Paul Daly pose with the trophy at the draw for the United Cup in Sydney, Australia. (Reuters)
