United Cup
Harris provides perfect Perth start for Great Britain after Raducanu setback

World No. 128 downs Mochizuki to earn his country a 1-0 lead

January 04, 2026

Paul Kane/Getty Images

Billy Harris in action against Shintaro Mochizuki on Sunday at the United Cup.
By ATP/WTA Staff

Billy Harris settled Great British nerves after a tumultuous start to the day in Perth with a rock-solid 7-6(4), 6-3 triumph against Shintaro Mochizuki at the United Cup.

Sunday at RAC Arena began with the news that Britain’s No. 1 WTA player Emma Raducanu had withdrawn from the women’s singles match against Naomi Osaka, with Katie Swan brought in to replace the 2021 US Open champion. Yet Harris then quickly handed his team a welcome boost with an impressive triumph against a player 29 spots above him in the PIF ATP Rankings.

“Great atmosphere… It got me through the match,” said Harris in his on-court interview. “A 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.”

🙌 Impressive start for Team Great Britain as Harris defeats Mochizuki in straight sets. pic.twitter.com/66t4GiCSSF

— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 4, 2026

The 30-year-old Briton initially rallied from 3-5 in the opening set against Mochizuki but then failed to serve it out at 6-5. Harris promptly delivered a rock-solid first-set tie-break showing, however, to capitalise on the inconsistencies of the World No. 99 Japanese.

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.

“Having Tim on the bench, it’s 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.

Mochizuki was chasing Japan’s 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.

All Japanese eyes will now be on former World No. 1 Osaka, who needs to overcome World No. 276 Swan in order to keep alive Japan’s chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals.