Raducanu to end injury layoff at United Cup, Shelton leads Team USA with Gauff

Emma Raducanu will make her return from injury at the United Cup, the mixed-team event that opens the 2027 season in Perth and Sydney from January 1 to 10. Tennis Australia revealed the 18 teams and their players on Wednesday, with world No. 4 Ben Shelton joining Coco Gauff at the head of Team USA, and Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova leading Czech Republic.

Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, has not played since June because of a stress fracture of the shin. She lost her first grass-court final to Donna Vekic at Queen’s on June 14, then withdrew from Wimbledon on the eve of her opening match, after a scan confirmed the injury, the BBC reported.

Raducanu returns with special ranking

The timing of her return is no accident. By staying out until January, the 23-year-old qualifies for a special ranking, available to players injured for at least six months. Hers was approved shortly before the United Cup entry deadline on Monday, and set at No. 38, according to the BBC.

That figure changes her start to the season. Her actual ranking, No. 107, would probably not be enough to enter the main draw of the Australian Open. With the special ranking, she can enter eight events in 2027, including two Grand Slams and five WTA 1000 tournaments. It also makes her the British No. 1 for the United Cup, where she will play alongside Arthur Fery.

Great Britain plays in Sydney, in Group D with France and Australia. Raducanu, who made a gradual return to training in early September, will play her first match in more than six months against Diane Parry on Saturday, January 2, in the day session. She faces Talia Gibson the following night.

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Shelton takes over from Fritz

Shelton’s presence changes the look of Team USA. Taylor Fritz led the American men alongside Gauff at the 2026 edition, which ended in the semi-finals. Shelton, a US Open finalist and Paris Masters runner-up this season, now takes the No. 1 men’s spot, and will play every singles tie, since each tie is contested by the top-ranked man and woman of each team.

“I can’t wait to represent Team USA again at the United Cup,” Gauff said in the organisers’ statement. “There is such an incredible atmosphere that comes with playing at the event. We’re coming back with one goal: to bring the trophy home for the USA once again.”

The United States play in Perth, in Group A with Kazakhstan and Croatia. Shelton opens against Aleksandr Shevchenko on the night of Saturday, January 2, after Gauff faces Yulia Putintseva, then plays Dino Prizmic on January 4, when Gauff meets Donna Vekic.

Twelve of the top 20

Six men and six women from the top 20 have entered. Besides Shelton, Gauff, Noskova and Roland-Garros finalists Flavio Cobolli and Maja Chwalinska, the field includes Arthur Fils, Rafael Jodar, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jiri Lehecka, Elise Mertens, Belinda Bencic and Victoria Mboko. Former top-10 players Paula Badosa, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Maria Sakkari, Hubert Hurkacz and Holger Rune are also listed.

Hosts Australia will be led by two debutants: Talia Gibson, No. 36 and now the top-ranked Australian woman, and Rinky Hijikata, who reached the Paris quarter-finals last week and rose to a career-high ranking. “Putting on the green and gold is probably the biggest honour you can have as an Australian athlete,” Hijikata said.

How the United Cup works

The 18 teams are split into six groups of three, nine in each city. Perth hosts the United States, Poland, Italy, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Croatia, Switzerland and Kazakhstan at RAC Arena. Sydney hosts Australia, Great Britain, Spain, Greece, France, Belgium, Czechia, Hungary and Argentina at Ken Rosewall Arena.

Each tie comprises a men’s singles, a women’s singles and a mixed doubles. The three group winners in each city and the best runner-up reach the quarter-finals, played in Perth on January 6 and in Sydney on January 7 and 8. The semi-finals and the final are played in Sydney on January 9 and 10, a week before the Australian Open.

United Cup 2027 order of play