Scouting Report: Fritz, Zverev and Auger-Aliassime are ATP stars to watch at Manchester United Cup | ATP Tour

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Scouting report: Fritz, Zverev and Auger-Aliassime are the ATP stars to watch in the Manchester United Cup

An executive summary of what every fan should know about mixed team events

January 1, 2026

For the fourth consecutive season, the calendar kicks off with the Fed Cup, a mixed team event featuring Australia’s top ATP and WTA stars.

This year, the event once again has participants from 18 countries, divided into 6 categories, held in Sydney and Perth respectively. ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch out for at the Fed Cup, with a preview of the Brisbane International presented by ANZ and the Bank of China Hong Kong Open later this week.

1) Defending U.S. champion: The U.S. team has won two of the three Fed Cups. Taylor Fritz, who has been representing the national team in the mixed team event, returns along with Coco Gauff to defend their trophy. The Americans, who swept Poland in the finals 12 months ago, will try to compete with 17 other nations in the tournament.

According to the Infosys ATP Win-Loss Index, Fritz has a 9-3 personal record in the Fed Cup since 2023, including wins over Alexander Zverev, Hubert Hulkac and Matteo Berrettini. He enters the season ranked No. 6 in the PIF ATP rankings.

2) Auger-Aliassim among the top 10 talents: Eight ATP singles players who are currently or have been among the top ten in the world participated in the Fed Cup. The current top ten stars are Germany’s Zverev, Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, the United States’ Fritz and Australia’s Alex De Minaur.

In particular, Auger-Aliassime, ranked fifth in the world, came to the Fed Cup with strong momentum. The Canadian is coming off the best season of his career, qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals for the second time. Auger-Aliassime reached the Masters 1000 final in Paris and won three ATP Tour titles in 2025, in addition to reaching the U.S. Open semifinals. Victoria Mboko, 25, and 19, who star in the Sydney national team, visited koalas and kangaroos at the zoo on Wednesday.

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Former world number two Kaspar Ruud (Norway), former world number three Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) and Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) will also take part, as well as Poland’s Hulkacs. De Minaur will face Rudd in Group D and Zverev will face Hulkac in Group F, with both games taking place at Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Stadium.

3) De Minaur flies the Australian flag: De Minaur enjoys playing at home, especially in his hometown of Sydney, where he won his first ATP Tour title in 2019 at the age of just 19. Lleyton Hewitt, a member of the home favorites ATP Ranking No. 1 club, captained Australia all the way. The country’s top WTA player, Maya Joint, competes in the Fed Cup for the first time. But De Minaur will lead the charge in this tournament, having beaten Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Zverev and Fritz.

4) Mensik is one to watch: The 2025 season brings Jakub Mensik to the big stage. The Czech right-hander started the season ranked only in the top 50 and eventually became a top 20 star and won the 1000th Masters. The Miami champion has established himself as a fearless competitor no matter what stage he plays on and will take his game to the Fed Cup for the first time. The 20-year-old will need to be sharp for his first game in Sydney, where he will face De Minaur and Rudd in Group D.

5) Return of Huckac: Hulkac, a superb serve, has twice helped Poland reach the Fed Cup finals and will try to do so again in 2026. But it also marked the 28-year-old’s first competitive appearance since suffering a knee injury in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in June. The former world No. 6 will seek revenge on Zverev, who defeated him in the 2024 Fed Cup final. He will also face Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, against whom he won 3-2 Lexus ATP head-to-head.

Key information about the Manchester United Cup
View group and team rosters
View game schedule