China edged Belgium in their opening Group B tie at the United Cup in Sydney on Saturday, needing a match breaker in the deciding mixed doubles to secure a tight 2-1 win.
Playing United Cup, I will always want to, because the atmosphere is so much different. We get so many, like, normal tournaments on tour that, honestly, it gets boring sometimes. Playing a team event, and having the different energy, being able to have a team, and talk to different people than we do on tour, I think it’s great. It’s really refreshing. I will always choose [the] United Cup. Iga Swiatek
Belgian No 1 Elise Mertens got her team off to a strong start on the first day of play at the Ken Rosewall Arena by beating China’s Zhu Lin, 6-2 6-2, kicking off her 12th WTA tour-level season in some style with a 1 hour, 18-minute victory, which was her 4th win in 5 career meetings with the former World No 3.
The 31-year-old from China had a resurgent second half of 2025 after seeing her ranking plummet due to an elbow injury.
Ranked No 493 in August, she reached the 4th-round of the WTA 1000 event in Montreal, and begins 2026 at No 168, but Mertens proved too much for the Chinese No 6 to handle on this occasion.
The Belgian broke serve 6 times, won 5 of the first 6 games, and 4 straight from 1-1 in the second set, despite landing less than than 50% of her first serves in that set.
“I’m very happy to be back, and to start on a good note,” Mertens said afterwards. “First match is about getting the balls, getting the mentality and everything, so I’m very happy that I could close out this one.”
Elise Mertens put Belgium 1-0 up against China with a straight Sets win over Zhu Lin, but couldn’t pull the team through in the mixed doubles at Ken Rosewall Arena on Day 2 of the United Cup
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China’s Zhang Zhizhen then battled to a 6-7(2) 7-6(3) 7-5 win against Zizou Bergs in the men’s singles after 2 hours and 53 minutes to keep his team in the hunt, levelling the tie at 1-1.
“I think he was serving really well, and then I didn’t have a chance,” Zhang said in his on-court interview. “Second serves he was making 180 kilometres [an hour], which I couldn’t react to that fast. But I’m super happy that I was surviving [for the] team until the end. I didn’t give up and kept the same patience. We were both playing a really good match today.”
There was not a service break in the match until 5-5 in the deciding set, when Bergs missed an inside-out forehand to allow Zhang to serve out the match.
The Chinese, who missed 6 months last season due to a shoulder injury, fired 12 aces and did not face a break point to survive Bergs’ 18-ace barrage.
Zhang, who has been ranked as high as 31, carved out 10 break points in the match before finally converting after nearly 3 hours into the showdown to keep his country’s hopes in the tie alive.
China’s Zhang Zhizhen (R) & Zhu Lin edged the match breaker against Belgium’s Zizou Bergs & Elise Mertens in the deciding mixed doubles match on Saturday
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After his singles match, Zhang partnered with Zhu to defeat Bergs & Mertens, 5-7 7-6(5) [10-6], in the deciding mixed doubles.
“In doubles, we just needed to win a set plus a super tiebreak,” Zhang said. “We just really [used] the first set to try to play more, and to try more things in the service games, and then to be prepared for the second set and, hopefully, the third set.”
It was a thriller of a mixed doubles, in which China let slip a 5-1 lead in the second set, and Belgium was within 2 points of clinching the tie twice – at 6-5, 30-30 in the second set, and then at 5-5 in the second set tiebreak.
Zhang dominated much of the play at key moments, but, in the critical 5-5 point, Zhu showed great defensive volleys to avoid giving Belgium a match point.
The Chinese pair then surged into the lead in the 10-point match breaker, and closed out the clash after captain Wu Di called time-out at 9-6 before Zhang’s final serve.
“It was the first time we’ve played mixed doubles together, and thank you to Triple Z, I got a good partner today,” Zhu said. “He just played a three-hour match and then continued to play mixed doubles with me. It wasn’t easy. It was a great performance today, and thank you for all the crowd and for the support, it really means a lot to us.”
19-year old Victoria Mboko is making her United Cup debut for Canada, who will take on China and Belgium in Group B in Sydney
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China, now leading Group B in the standings, will take on Canada next.
Victoria Mboko will be making her United Cup debut for Canada, having had a breakout 2025 season that saw the teenager climb from outside the Top 300 to No 18 in the world, and land her first WTA 100 title, the National Bank Open in Montreal, defeating former World No 1, Naomi Osaka, in the final.
Canadian team-mate, Felix Auger-Aliassime, who is ranked 5th in world, could potentially share the court with Mboko for the first time, if they are both selected for a mixed-doubles match.
“Vicky had a breakthrough year last year. Amazing year. It was so much fun to watch,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I think, myself, and teammates, and all of Canada, was really proud of her. I’m looking forward to it.
“It would be our first time being on the same team, playing together mixed. I’ve had my share of experience, so, hopefully, I can help a little bit. She’s got all the qualities we need on the court to go all the way and win.”
Mboko is excited about the possibility of playing alongside one of the world’s best, who reached the semi-finals in the men’s singles at the 2025 US Open.
She also enjoyed competing for Canada in the Billie Jean King Cup, which helped her decide to play at the United Cup.
“This is just a different format that I’m not really used to,” Mboko said. “It’s a great way to start the year, playing round-robin matches and then, maybe, eventually advancing to the final group stages. The whole format of everything was drawing me to play this tournament. I’m happy with my decision.”
Iga Swiatek of Team Poland poses on Sydney Harbour ahead of the United Cup at Ken Rosewall Arena on Friday
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It was also Media Day on Saturday, and the World No 2, Iga Swiatek, made it clear that she is not going to add any additional pressure on herself ahead of the 2026 season.
With 4 Roland Garros titles and 1 at both Wimbledon and the US Open under her belt, the Pole just needs a win at the Australian Open to complete the career Grand Slam, but the former World No 1 refuses to be drawn.
“I’m just focusing on my own process,” the 24-year old explained to the media. “Both of these things are hard to achieve, and are a big goal. There is a long way to get there. On a Grand Slam you have to really play great for two weeks, not have any bad days, be consistent.
‘Achieving No 1 also is tough, especially when Aryna [Sabalenka] has been playing great for last years. I’ll just focus on myself, honestly, because that’s the only way to go. I don’t need to choose which one is more important, which one is a priority. I’m still young. I have plenty of time to do different things, and achieve different goals in my career.
“I think my mentality at the beginning of the year is usually pretty much the same. The only difference was, maybe, 2023, when I did the mistakes of thinking about the whole season already at the beginning. It totally didn’t make sense.
“Now I’m really thinking about it, as last year, as in 2024, just thinking about one swing, only tournaments in Australia. Then, after I’m done with that, I’ll think about the next one.”
Swiatek’s current focus is the United Cup, where she guided Poland to the final here in Sydney last season, before the team narrowly fell to the United States, 2-0. Poland also made the final in 2024, when they lost to Germany, 2-1.
Given the United Cup’s team format, compared to the Brisbane and Adelaide tournaments, which start next week, Swiatek prefers to open her season representing her country.
“Playing United Cup, I will always want to, because the atmosphere is so much different,” said Swiatek, who will face Germany’s Eva Lys and Netherlands’ Suzan Lamens in Group F. “We get so many, like, normal tournaments on tour that, honestly, it gets boring sometimes.
“Playing a team event, and having the different energy, being able to have a team, and talk to different people than we do on tour, I think it’s great. It’s really refreshing. I will always choose [the] United Cup.”
Poland is in Group F with 2023 champions Germany and the Netherlands, and will be in action in Sydney on Monday.
Czechia’s Barbora Krejcikova is one of many players making their debut at the United Cup.
Ranked 65, Krejcikova is ranked lower than her compatriots, such as Karolina Muchova and Marketa Vondrousova, but they have opted to begin their campaigns in Brisbane, paving the way for the 2-time Grand Slam champion to represent her country.
“When I got this opportunity to be part of the team, to play this competition, finally, after a couple of years, I was really excited right away,” Krejcikova said. “As I already said, I’m really happy that I can be here, that I can represent this team.’
Krejcikova is currently scheduled to face Australia’s Maya Joint and Norway’s Malene Helgo in Group D, although Joint has been battling an illness in recent days.
After returning from injury in the middle of the 2025 season, Krejcikova said she is feeling healthy heading into the new season, and improved her ranking with a quarter-final finish at the US Open.
She is also an easy choice for mixed doubles, too, given her 7 Grand Slam doubles titles.
“Regarding the mixed doubles, it’s always been great to play mixed,” Krejcikova said. “I always enjoyed it very much.”