The retirements of tennis greats Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Serena Williams has made promoting events more difficult but organisers must grab the opportunity to push new talent into the spotlight, the United Cup’s tournament director said.
Rafael Nadal retirement leaves United Cup organisers pushing to ‘tell the story’ of next icons of tennis The Australia-based event serves as a build-up to the first grand slam of the year.
“It’s true to say that from a promotional standpoint, it’s very easy if you’ve got Roger Federer or Rafa Nadal turning up,” Farrow told Reuters after the draw for the 18-team tournament was held in Sydney recently.
Grand Slam contenders Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff will all be in action for their countries at the Dec. 27-Jan. 5 tournament staged in Perth and Sydney as they prepare for the Australian Open starting on Jan. 12.
The popular $10 million mixed team event aims to do just that when it kicks off the new season on Friday, with tournament chief Stephen Farrow confident the sport is in good hands.
