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Tennis Australia (TA) chief executive Craig Tiley has backed the United Cup to become "the pre-eminent global teams' event" in tennis, amid calls for changes to be made to the competition.
Key points:
- Tiley says the players welcomed the introduction of the United Cup
- He concedes there will be "tweaks" made to the format in future editions
- John Millman wants a Brisbane-based ATP Tour event to return to the calendar
The United Cup — held by the ATP and WTA Tours in partnership with TA — debuted in Australia this summer, with the mixed-gender tournament played in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.
The group round-robin stage, which involved 18 countries, was followed by knockout finals, with each tie contested in a best-of-five rubber format featuring men's and women's singles, and mixed doubles matches.
The United Cup offered rankings points for players on the ATP and WTA Tours, in addition to $15 million in prize money, with the US crowned its inaugural winner.
Australian veteran John Millman is among those in the sport who believe the event needs to undergo change, with Tiley conceding there would be "tweaks" made to future editions.
But Tiley said the United Cup had a bright future as part of the international tennis landscape.
"My prediction? It will be the pre-eminent global teams' event," he told ABC Sport.
Tiley – who also wears the hat of Australian Open tournament director – said the United Cup was welcomed by the players as a key lead-up event to the first major of the season, which begins at Melbourne Park on Monday.
"Our measure on how things work is to talk to talent and what they say," he said.
"Every single player … said how much they absolutely loved the United Cup.
"I think that event is here to stay. It got over 190,000 people come through the gate and millions watched around the world, [in] 183 countries."
United Cup's 'teething issues'
Millman said the United Cup's schedule was one of its features that needed to be reviewed.
"I think there is probably a few teething issues that they could nut out and get a little bit better in terms of scheduling, playing over the two days with the ties, having dead rubbers," he said.
"I think there are little things that we could nut out to make it a little bit better.
"It's one of those competitions that is in its infancy stage. Hopefully it can get a little bit more momentum."
Long-time Australian tennis tournament director Peter Johnston —currently running the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne —said it was "tricky" playing the United Cup in three cities.
He said the event could be "fine-tuned".
"Do you have the mixed [doubles] in the middle so it always counts? but how does the player play mixed and then back up and play singles?" Johnston said.
The United Cup replaced the male-only ATP Cup, which was contested across four Australian cities between 2020 and 2022.
The establishment of the ATP Cup meant the men's event at the Brisbane International was removed, although the tournament remained on the WTA Tour in 2020, based in the Queensland capital.
Adelaide's Memorial Drive is hosting back-to-back ATP and WTA Tour events ahead of the Australian Open, but Millman would like to see a tournament return to his hometown of Brisbane.
"I'm a little bit sentimental towards the Brisbane International because I remember the glory days of the Brisbane International," he said.