As this 2026 WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz season unfurls, they are two of the most intriguing players based on their past performances — and, going forward, what the future holds.
A stellar match — the best strictly in terms of rankings in group play — sees No. 8 Jasmine Paolini versus No. 11 Belinda Bencic. Paolini is a two-time Grand Slam finalist, while Bencic won the singles gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Bencic won their first two meetings, but they played twice in 2025 with Paolini triumphing both times. The first match — at the United Cup — deserves an asterisk. Paolini was a 6-1, 6-1 winner, but it was Bencic’s first match back after becoming a mother in 2024. It was much closer this past fall in a Ningbo quarterfinal won by Paolini 5-7, 7-5, 6-3.
This is the Italian’s third United Cup appearance.
“Maybe some years ago I felt more pressure playing as a team,” Paolini said. “I couldn’t play well in Billie Jean King Cup. Then I get more relaxed. Hopefully this year it’s going to be the same.”
Bencic comes in with some serious momentum after winning two matches in a 3-0 victory over France — including the decisive mixed doubles with Jakub Paul in a match-tiebreak.
“It’s been a great day for us, thanks to Belinda to play so well and to show us the way,” said Swiss captain Stan Wawrinka. “We are just living in Belinda’s world, so we’re enjoying that. Thank you.”
Originally, Japan’s Naomi Osaka was scheduled to face Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu, but Katie Swan will now take Raducanu’s place in the women’s singles match in a revised lineup.
Swan, 26, plays primarily on ITF circuit, and she last competed in a tour-level event over two years ago as a wild card for the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, where she lost in the first round to Bencic.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been part of the Great Britain team in any capacity,” Swan said at Great Britain’s media day in Perth. “Last time was probably with Tim (Henman) at the first United Cup in Sydney, and I loved every part of that experience. I’m really happy to be back here with this team.”
After giving birth to a daughter in the summer of 2023, Osaka has gradually rediscovered her elite game, reaching the semifinals of the 2025 US Open, suggesting she soon might be a threat in Melbourne.
This is the first United Cup experience for Osaka, who looks to bounce back following a loss to Maria Sakkari on Friday.
“Being able to play the best players in the world straight off the bat, I think is a privilege,” Osaka told reporters after the match vs. Sakkari. “For me, I really enjoy matches like that. I just feel like it’s going to be really fun.”
United Cup Jan. 4 schedule, Perth, RAC Arena
Group E: Great Britain (0-0) vs. Japan (0-1)
Start Time: (10 a.m. local, 9 p.m. ET)
Women’s singles: Katie Swan vs. Naomi Osaka
Team 🇬🇧 Update: Emma Raducanu (GBR) will be replaced by Katie Swan (GBR) in today’s women’s singles match.
— United Cup (@UnitedCupTennis) January 4, 2026
Men’s singles: Billy Harris vs. Shintaro Mochizuki
Mixed doubles: Olivia Nicholls and Neal Skupski vs. Nao Hibino and Yasutaka Uchiyama
Group C: Italy (0-0) vs. Switzerland (1-0)
Start Time: (Not before 5 p.m. local, 4 a.m. ET)
Women’s singles: Jasmine Paolini vs. Belinda Bencic
Men’s singles: Flavio Cobolli vs. Stan Wawrinka
Mixed doubles: Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori vs. Bencic and Wawrinka
United Cup/Sydney
If Sydney’s opening match is any indication, we’re in for a treat. The tie between China and Belgium went down to a mixed-doubles match-tiebreak with two players who had never been partners.
Zhu Lin and Zhang Zhizhen stunned Elise Mertens and Zizou Bergs 5-7, 7-6 (5), 10-6 in a thriller at Ken Rosewall Arena.
“It’s a tough day today, especially for Triple-Z,” Zhu said of her partner. “He just finished a three-set match and didn’t get too much time to rest. I lost my singles today, so at the beginning of the game I was kind of slowly into the game, and he was there to cheer me up, to tell me to believe in myself.”
China again will have to dig deep on Sunday with another challenge – Canada, led by rising star Victoria Mboko and Felix Auger-Aliassime. Zhu beat Mboko in their only previous meeting, but that was more than three years ago in Monastir, Tunisia — when Mboko was only 15 years old.
The first tie is Germany vs. Netherlands. No. 40-ranked Eva Lys and Suzan Lamens (No. 89) have split their two career matches, with Lamens winning the most recent two years ago in Osaka qualifying.
United Cup Jan. 4 schedule, Sydney, Ken Rosewall Arena
Group F: Germany (0-0) vs. Netherlands (0-0)
Start Time: (Not before 5 p.m. local, 4 a.m. ET)
Women’s singles: Eva Lys vs. Suzan Lamens
Men’s singles: Alexander Zverev vs. Tallon Griekspoor
Mixed doubles: Laura Siegemund and Zverev vs. Demi Schuurs and Griekspoor
Group B: Canada (0-0) vs. China (1-0)
Start Time: (10:30 a.m. local, 2:30 a.m. ET)
Women’s singles: Victoria Mboko vs. Zhu Lin
Men’s singles: Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Zhang Zhizhen
Mixed doubles: Mboko and Auger-Aliassime vs. Zhu and Zhang
Brisbane International Jan. 4 schedule
Main-draw play begins Sunday at the Queensland Tennis Centre.
The 16 seeds all have byes in this WTA 500 event, but there are six first-round singles matches, including one between Daria Kasatkina and Anastasia Potapova, who recently changed nationalities, to Australia and Austria, respectively.
Special bonus: No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka opens 2026 as Paula Badosa’s doubles partner.
PAT RAFTER ARENA starts at 11 a.m.
11:00 AM Celebrity One Point Slam Challenge
NB 12:00 PM D. Kasatkina (AUS) vs A. Potapova (AUT)
P. Badosa (ESP) / A. Sabalenka vs L. Samsonova / S. Zhang (CHN)
SHOW COURT 1 starts at 11 a.m.
E. Jacquemot (FRA) vs [WC] A. Tomljanovic (AUS)
S. Cirstea (ROU) vs A. Pavlyuchenkova
S. Kenin (USA) vs [Q] E. Ruse (ROU)
J. Cristian (ROU) vs M. Bouzkova (CZE)
SHOW COURT 2 starts at 11 a.m.
E. Arango (COL) vs M. Kessler (USA)
[WC] K. Birrell (AUS) / T. Gibson (AUS) vs [3] C. Bucsa (ESP) / E. Perez (AUS)
H. Chan (TPE) / X. Jiang (CHN) vs E. Alexandrova / M. Andreeva
E. Hozumi (JPN) / F. Wu (TPE) vs [WC] P. Hon (AUS) / K. Muchova (CZE)
