Hubert Hurkacz’s great match. The Pole signaled his return to the top

In Sunday’s first Poland-USA match, Iga Świątek lost to Coco Gauff in two sets (4:6, 4:6). This put the Polish team in an extremely difficult position. It became clear that to extend the chances of winning the United Cup 2025, Hubert Hurkacz needed to win in the singles competition.

Hubert Hurkacz – Taylor Fritz. Great fight in the United Cup final

However, the Wroclaw native had a high bar. Hurkacz had to face Taylor Fritz. The American is currently number 4 in the ATP rankings. The Pole, after a serious injury suffered last year during Wimbledon, is in the bottom ten of the world ranking.

Hurkacz lost the first set against Fritz, just like Świątek against Gauff, in the ratio 4:6. In such an equal match, it turned out that only one break would be needed to win the game. Fritz did it in the fifth game (3:2), but in the second set he lost his way in the twelfth game (7:5).

What is most impressive, however, was that Hurkacz could be seen in his really good form on the court in Sydney. The Wroclaw native had his strongest argument, i.e. his serve, but he also added an offensive game, putting pressure on the favorite of the match.

The fate of the competition was decided by the tie-break of the third set. The first game was 6:4 for Fritz, and in the second game the Pole won 7:5. The key turned out to be a mistake at 3:5 on the Wrocław player’s side, with his serve. Well-disposed Fritz, having two points on his own pass, did not miss such an opportunity.

Thus, the USA won the United Cup, winning the crucial two points in singles matches.

United Cup 2025. The Polish national team is among the world’s best

The Polish team finished the group games with complete victories. The national team won 2-1 in both cases, first against Norway and then against the Czech Republic. It was even more impressive in the quarterfinals, in which Poland defeated Great Britain 3-0. As it turned out, in the semi-final the Polish team also showed class, eliminating Kazakhstan.

Iga Świątek performed very well. The team leader won both singles and mixed doubles, first in a duo with Jan Zieliński (vs Norway), and then with Hubert Hurkacz (vs Czech Republic). In addition, the WTA ranking runner-up added a valuable triumph in the quarterfinals, after a very good match against the sensational Briton Katie Boulter. The last win was a semi-final battle with Yelena Rybakina. The defeat came only in the final, after losing to Gauff.

It is worth recalling that in the case of the history of the United Cup, Polish tennis is doing very well. Two finals have been played so far, and one of them – last year’s (2023/24) – featured the Polish national team. Ultimately, Świątek and Hurkacz lost to the German team, represented by Angelika Kerber (lost to Świątek), Alex Zwieriew (won to Hurkacz) and doubles Laura Siegemund / Alexander Zwieriew (defeated by Świątek/Hurkacz duo). In the premiere edition, the USA crushed Italy 4-0 in the final.

Additionally, Poland was the only team in the history of three editions of the United Cup to reach at least the semi-finals each time. Moreover, for the second time in a row, the Polish team competed in a direct game for the title.