January 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Osaka\u2019s serve set the tone, as she won the first 10 points on her serve and 11 of the first 12. By match end, the former World No. 1 had won 78 per cent of her first-serve points and struck six aces. The performance from the service line provided a crucial cushion given her early struggles on return, as she converted just one of 10 break points in the opening set. <\/p>\n
Despite the loss, the match will stand as a career highlight for Swan, who has endured repeated injuries and setbacks. Despite the adversity, she entered the contest with 16 ITF singles titles — including four in 2025 — and was a girls\u2019 singles finalist at the 2015 Australian Open. <\/p>\n
Swan competed in the inaugural United Cup in 2023, going 2-1 in singles with wins over Nuria Parrizas Diaz and Zoe Hives, while losing to Madison Keys. Her last WTA Tour main-draw win came at the event, while her most recent tour-level main-draw appearance had come at Wimbledon in 2023, where she lost to Belinda Bencic. <\/p>\n
The Briton battled throughout Sunday\u2019s match, showing resolve from the opening game. She earned the first break of the match for a 4-3 lead in the first set and saved the first eight break points she faced, but it ultimately wasn\u2019t enough to avoid a winner-take-all mixed doubles match. <\/p>\n
Osaka broke back to level at 5-5, claimed the first-set tiebreak 7\/4 and then pulled away in the second set. <\/p>\n
\u201c[Winning the first set] was definitely really important,\u201d Osaka said. \u201cAnd just, I guess for my confidence, trying to just build more. So yeah, I definitely appreciated winning the first set for sure.\u201d <\/p>\n
Harris had earlier settled British nerves in the wake of Raducanu’s morning withdrawal with a rock-solid 7-6(4), 6-3 triumph against Mochizuki. The 30-year-old quickly handed his team a welcome boost with an impressive triumph against a player 29 spots above him in the PIF ATP Rankings. <\/p>\n
\u201cGreat atmosphere\u2026 It got me through the match,\u201d said Harris in his on-court interview. \u201cA lot of Brits out here. Great to get the first win for the team. Some shaky bits in there, but I managed to close it out there in the end, so I was happy with that.” <\/p>\n
Harris initially rallied from 3-5 in the opening set against Mochizuki but then failed to serve it out at 6-5. The Briton promptly delivered a rock-solid first-set tie-break showing, however, to capitalise on the inconsistencies of the World No. 99 Japanese. <\/p>\n
With frequent motivational calls from his captain Tim Henman on the team bench, Harris completed his one-hour, 50-minute win after claiming the only break of the second set in the fourth game. It was his first tour-level triumph since he defeated Dusan Lajovic at Wimbledon last July. <\/p>\n
\u201cHaving Tim on the bench, it\u2019s great having advice from someone like that, so you are listening every changeover and those little bits of advice can make a difference,” said Harris. <\/p>\n
Mochizuki was chasing Japan\u2019s first match win of the 2026 United Cup after it fell 0-3 to Greece on Friday. However, his efforts were undermined by a wayward performance from the baseline: the 22-year-old produced 19 unforced errors in the first set alone and made just 40 per cent (27\/68) of first serves overall, according to Infosys ATP Stats. <\/p>\n