The world's tennis stars are preparing to open 2026 play in Australia this weekend, with top WTA and ATP leaders on Team USA gearing up to defend their United Cup title starting this Friday.
The two-time champion US enters as the No. 1 seed in the fourth edition of the hard-court tournament, bolstered by the return of world No. 3 Coco Gauff to lead Team USA's six-player United Cup contingent.
With each tournament bout consisting of one WTA singles match, one ATP singles clash, and one mixed-doubles competition, Gauff notably claimed a straight-sets victory over Polish phenom No. 2 Iga Świątek to secure the 2025 title for the US.
"I'm super excited," the 21-year-old star said prior to this year's United Cup. "I had such a good time in my first year playing with the team, and I'm looking forward to going back."
With the 2026 Australian Open beginning in less than two weeks, the United Cup pits 18 national teams against each other as players from both the women's and men's tours tune up for next year's Slams.
Fellow WTA Top-10 stars Świątek and Italy's No. 8 Jasmine Paolini will join Gauff on the 2026 United Cup court, while fan favorite No. 16 Naomi Osaka will feature for tournament debutant Japan.
Also battling for national pride will be two winners of last season's WTA awards, with 2025 Newcomer of the Year No. 18 Vicky Mboko joining Team Canada and 2025 Comeback Player of the Year No. 11 Belinda Bencic competing for Switzerland.
How to watch the 2026 United Cup
The 2026 United Cup runs January 2nd through 11th, with live coverage airing on the Tennis Channel.
Tennis star Aryna Sabalenka has done it again, with the world No. 1 taking home the WTA Player of the Year award for a second straight season on Monday — becoming just the seventh woman to earn the honor back-to-back.
Sabalenka won Player of the Year in dominant fashion, garnering nearly 80% of the media vote after leading the 2025 WTA Tour in wins, titles, and finals appearances — all while racking up a record $15 million in prize money.
The 27-year-old spent the entire year as the sport's No. 1 player, all while reaching three of the four Grand Slam finals en route to winning the 2025 US Open.
After an elite season, US rising star Amanda Anisimova won the WTA Most Improved Player honor for reaching a career-first two Grand Slam finals while jumping from No. 34 to No. 4 in the rankings.
Following her own breakout 2025 campaign, 19-year-old Canadian talent No. 18 Vicky Mboko took home Newcomer of the Year, with Swiss No. 11 Belinda Bencic earning Comeback Player of the Year after returning from pregnancy in stellar form.
The world's top duo of Czechia's Katerina Siniakova and US standout Taylor Townsend also capped their 2025 season with hardware, earning the sport's Doubles Team of the Year.
As the 2025 tennis calendar hits the home stretch, the WTA's finest will hit the hardcourt at the 1000-level China Open this week — with invites to November's WTA Finals on the line.
Top US players including world No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, and No. 7 Jessica Pegula will begin their 2025 China Open campaigns when the tournament's Round of 64 starts late Thursday night.
Also aiming for the lion's share of the competition's nearly $9 million prize pool — including a winner's check over $1.1 million — are 2023 China Open champ No. 2 Iga Świątek, 19-year-old rising star No. 23 Victoria Mboko, and recent US Open semifinalist and fan favorite No. 14 Naomi Osaka.
The world No. 1, however, will miss this edition of the tournament, as back-to-back US Open champ Aryna Sabalenka withdrew due to "a minor injury" earlier this month.
As for the competition's reigning champion, Gauff will kick off both her title defense and the Round of 64 on Thursday, following up her 2024 success by winning her second career Grand Slam at the 2025 French Open in June.
"I think winning the French Open helped me take that weight off," Gauff told reporters about the pressure of defending her 2024 trophy. "I definitely feel a lot lighter. It feels like a practice tournament."
How to watch the 2025 China Open
The Round of 64 at the 2025 China Open kicks off with Gauff taking on No. 89 Kamilla Rakhimova at 11 PM ET on Thursday.
All tournament matches will stream live on the Tennis Channel.
The 2025 Canadian Open wrapped up with a storybook ending in Montréal, as 18-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko earned her first-ever WTA Tour title by defeating four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka in Thursday's final.
"I would have never thought that I would have made it to the final, let alone win the tournament," Mboko said after battling back to take down Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1. "It just proves that your dreams are closer than they [seem]."
The largely unexpected final matchup capped a 2025 Canadian Open that saw every seeded player fall, with Mboko putting together a dream run that included ousting four Grand Slam champions — Osaka, Sofia Kenin, Elena Rybakina, and Coco Gauff.
Thursday saw Mboko become just the third-ever Canadian to win the event, plus the teen phenom made tennis history as only the third wild-card entrant to ever claim victory in a WTA 1000 tournament.
As for Osaka, despite falling just short of the finish line, the 2025 Canadian Open was a distinct return to form for the fan favorite, who put together her most successful tournament run in three years in Montréal this week.
Both finalists earned a significant rankings bump with their performances this week, with Osaka rising to world No. 25 while Mboko, who started the 2025 season outside the WTA's Top 350, skyrocketed to No. 24.
Having withdrawn from the 2025 Cincinnati Open due to the near-impossible turnaround between Thursday's final in Montréal and their Saturday matches in Ohio, both Mboko and Osaka will enjoy some much-deserved rest before gearing up for the season's final Grand Slam — the 2025 US Open.
With the US Open rapidly approaching — the WTA season's final Grand Slam — the tennis world's hardcourt titans are tuning up at the 2025 Canadian Open.
This year's tournament is in full swing up in Montréal, allowing players to hone their skills before next week's Cincinnati Open sets the tone for the annual New York City Slam.
Though stars like world No. 5 Mirra Andreeva, No. 9 Jasmine Paolini, and No. 11 Emma Navarro stumbled out of contention in the tournament's first two rounds, many heavy-hitters are still in play, including all three 2025 Grand Slam winners: Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, French Open victor No. 2 Coco Gauff, and newly crowned Wimbledon champ No. 3 Iga Świątek.
Joining Gauff in punching her ticket to Saturday's Round of 16 is fellow US player No. 32 McCartney Kessler, while Keys and several others in the US contingent — No. 4 Jessica Pegula, No. 7 Amanda Anisimova, and No. 116 Caty McNally — will battle to advance from the Round of 32 on Friday.
Other fan favorites are also still in the mix, including Japan's No. 49 Naomi Osaka and the UK's No. 33 Emma Raducanu, while 18-year-old phenom No. 85 Victoria Mboko is impressing as Canada's last-standing contender in play.
Notably sitting out this week is world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, with the 2024 US Open champ prioritizing her mental and physical rest ahead of her title defense.
How to watch the 2025 Canadian Open
The 2025 Canadian Open's Round of 32 continues throughout Friday before the Round of 16 takes the Montréal court on Saturday.
Continuous live coverage of the tournament will are on the Tennis Channel.