2026 United Cup – Poland persist until the end for first win in three finals in Sydney
Amid the endless sea of Polish fans in the Ken Rosewall Arena, one banner stood out. ‘Third time lucky’ was the message adorned in white-and-red, and it proved to be prophetic for Poland as they ended their wait for United Cup glory in Sydney.
Neither Poland nor Switzerland had won the tournament since it replaced the ATP Cup in a mixed team format in 2022. Poland may well have felt the nerves after Bencic made it nine wins out of nine in the tournament.
World No. 2 Świątek was frustrated to lose in two hours, 13 minutes, having come so close to the title on the last two occasions. Then up stepped former world No. 6 Hurkacz, playing his first ATP tournament since June 2025, with a gritty performance.
Hurkacz, 28, found a way past three-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka to improve his head-to-head record to 2-0, adding to impressive wins this week against top 10 players Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz.
Poland’s team effort was exemplified by doubles pair Kawa and Zieliński, who won all five matches they played while dropping just one set.
Bencic, named the tournament MVP in the trophy ceremony with a 9-1 record, returns to the WTA top 10 for the first time since April 2023 – and now as a mother to daughter Bella.
Her teammate and fellow Olympic gold medallist Wawrinka bid an emotional farewell to the Sydney crowd, in what is his final season of professional tennis. The stage is set for the season’s first Grand Slam, the Australian Open, which takes place from 18 January to 1 February.