Surprise! The 2026 tennis season has started–sneakily.. The United Cup has kicked off in Sydney and Perth, with 18 teams fighting it out over the next days in the fourth edition of the mixed-gender team event.
If you’re like me and have been craving a bit of tennis betting action, then you’re in luck. Below, I breakdown all the ins and outs of the event, including who’s favorite to win, what the bookies think, and where the value is at from a betting perspective this week.
Quick overview: How the United Cup works
It’s been a year since the last one, so you can be forgiven if you’ve forgotten how this whole thing works. Here’s the top level:
- 18 teams are split into six groups, with three groups playing in Perth and three in Sydney
- Groups play a round robin, with the winner of each group advancing to the quarter-finals, plus the best runner up from each city
- Ties are comprized of one men’s singles match, one women’s singles match and a mixed doubles match
- The top ranked male and female must play the singles match
- Singles matches are best of three, doubles are best of two with a match tiebreak if it’s one set each
The key here is that the best ATP and WTA player from each team are required to play each singles match. While teams are six players deep, what really matters is the strength of the top male and female.
United Cup odds and favorites
One team sits head-and-shoulders above the rest when it comes to their top two singles players. The United States are the only country that boast both a top-10 male and female, in Taylor Fritz and Coco Gauff. It helps that they’re two-time defending champs too.
Canada does have an all top-20 duo though, with Felix Auger-Aliassime (8) and Victoria Mboko (18). Italy and Australia have strong leads too in Flavio Cobolli (22) and Jasmine Paolini (8), and Alex de Minaur (7) and Maya Joint (32) respectively.
But it’s Poland who potentially have the best shot at disrupting the US–accompanying world No 2 Iga Swiatek is Hubert Hurkacz, who may be down in the rankings at No 75 currently, but is a former top-10 player with a penchant for doubles. They too have tasted a degree of success in the United Cup previously, twice falling in the final (even holding two championship points in 2024).
2026 United Cup betting odds
- United States – 3.50 (5/2)
- Poland – 5.00 (4/1)
- Canada – 9.00 (8/1)
- Italy – 13.00 (12/1)
- Greece – 15.00 (14/1)
- Australia – 17.00 (16/1)
A word of caution that the above tennis odds may shift given play is currently underway, but for those interested in the outright markets, this is how tennis betting sites loosely see the title favorites.
Top value bets and predictions for 2026 United Cup
Two dynamics make the United Cup fascinating to predict: its position in the calendar (we haven’t seen any of these players in action for 1-2 months) and its nature as a team event (comradery and pressure impacts individuals differently).
Personally, I’m not getting involved too heavily this week until I’ve seen a few of the big names in action. That said, here’s the value that I think is worthwhile getting a piece of at this stage:
- United States to win outright – 3.50 (+250)
Sure, it’s a short price, but it’s not that short considering the calibre of the team the US are fronting in Australia this year. Getting 3.50 (5/2) on a country that has both the women’s world No 3 and the men’s world No 6 is excellent value.
This format heavily rewards teams with two strong singles players, and the US is the only nation where both leads are comfortably inside the top 10. Both will likely play in the doubles too if needed, but it helps they have Nicole Melichar-Martinez waiting in the wings as well, who has been ranked as high as No 6 in the world for doubles.
- Canada to win Group B – 1.83 (-120)
I’m pretty confident Canada will sail through their group with little issue. Auger Aliassime ended 2025 in brilliant form, winning 24 of his final 31 matches. Combined with Mboko, who had a breakout year last season and has had plenty of time to recharge, they should have too much for Belgium and China.
The only reason I’m not tipping them to go further is a scepticism around Mboko’s ability to handle the team pressure. She may well rise to the occasion, but I’m not confident getting behind the teen just yet if she’s up against the likes of Gauff or Swiatek in a knockout match and the whole nation is riding on her shoulders.
- Belgium each-way to win outright – 67.00 (+6600)
For those seeking a longshot, Belgium is my pick. Elise Mertens is a top-20 player in both singles and doubles, with five Grands Slams to her name in the latter, making her an absolute weapon in the mixed format.
World No 43 Zizou Bergs is no mug either – the 26-year-old had a career-best season in 2025, cracking a career-high of No 39 and bagging wins over the likes of Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud. Should he rise to the occasion and nab an upset or two, Belgium could quietly become a very, very tough team to beat.
Not saying they’re anywhere close to being favorites, but they look better than a 67.00 (+6600) chance in my eyes.
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