The United Cup consistently attracts the very best players in the world to compete for their respective countries — and two of the biggest names in women’s tennis are now set to face off in the competition.
For the second consecutive year, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff will do battle when Poland takes on the United States in the mixed team event, with the two nations set to do battle in Saturday’s semi-final encounter.
The match-up between Swiatek and Gauff, both reigning Grand Slam champions, promises to be the biggest of the event so far, and here we look at all you need to know ahead of the blockbuster showdown.
How did we get here?
Poland and the United States have both had unblemished campaigns through the mixed team event so far, with neither nation losing a tie.
Competing in Sydney throughout the event, Poland beat both Germany and the Netherlands without losing a single individual rubber to top their group, before a hard-fought 2-1 win over Australia in Friday’s quarter-final.
Swiatek battled from a set down to beat Eva Lys of Germany in her opening match of the event, but has since made light work of the Netherlands’ Suzan Lamens and Australia’s Maya Joint.
Looking to defend their title in the event, the United States kicked off their campaign in Perth with a 3-0 group-stage win versus Argentina and a 2-1 victory versus Spain, before a 2-1 quarter-final triumph over Greece.
Gauff has so far contested every women’s singles and mixed doubles match for her country in the team event, with a 5-1 win-loss record in her six matches.
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In singles, she easily beat Argentina’s Solana Sierra before a shock defeat to Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, though she bounced back with a strong win over Maria Sakkari of Greece in the last eight.
Saturday’s semi-final will be the United States’ first clash in three days, having now travelled from Perth to Sydney.
Head-to-head
World No 2 Swiatek has a strong 11-4 head-to-head advantage over world No 4 Gauff, though that does not tell the full story of their rivalry.
The Pole dominated their rivalry early on, moving to an 11-1 lead in their head-to-head, with all of her wins coming in straight sets.
However, Gauff has turned the tables in recent years with three straight victories — including one in the 2025 United Cup.
After a surprise round-robin win over Swiatek at the 2024 WTA Finals, Gauff then beat the Pole in straight sets in the final of the United Cup last January, with the United States beating Poland to triumph.
Their most recent encounter came in the semi-final of the Madrid Open in May 2025, with Gauff thrashing Swiatek 6-1, 6-1 in just 64 minutes.
What did Gauff say?
Gauff was instrumental in the United States beating Greece in their quarter-final on Wednesday, beating Sakkari in her singles rubber before returning to court to seal victory in the deciding mixed doubles rubber alongside Christian Harrison.
At that time, Team United States were unaware of who their semi-final opponent was going to be, with Poland and Australia’s quarter-final clash still two days away at that point.
However, the world No 4 was still asked about the possibility of a 16th career meeting against the Pole.
She said: “I mean, obviously, we’ve played each other a lot of times. Last year [at the United Cup], I had a good match against her.
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to the battle. I feel like when I’m playing great tennis, it puts a lot of pressure on them. Yeah, I’m looking forward to that.”
What did Swiatek say?
Swiatek was directly asked about her match-up with Gauff after Poland sealed victory over Australia in a decisive mixed doubles tie.
Earlier in the day, the reigning Wimbledon champion had sealed an emphatic 6-1, 6-1 over Joint.
She said: “Well, honestly, I had no idea we were playing the US. I just got to know, actually when I saw we had mixed doubles under control.
“I’m going to prepare the plan tomorrow [Saturday]. For sure, it’s a good match, like exciting for the fans I think. But I’ll focus on my singles. Obviously, we know each other’s game pretty well with Coco.
“The key for me will be just to focus on myself, try to implement the stuff that I worked on during the pre-season and be brave with the decisions. Yeah, we’ll see.”
Predicted line-up: United States vs Poland
Men’s singles: Taylor Fritz vs Hubert Hurkacz
Women’s singles: Coco Gauff vs Iga Swiatek
Mixed doubles: Coco Gauff/Christian Harrison vs Iga Swiatek/Hubert Hurkacz
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