Australia goes all in on $22m event with tennis greats picked to lead the team

Australia has gone all in on the United Cup, with two of the country’s greatest tennis players picked to lead the team for the mega rich event.

Australia has named two captains for the inaugural United Cup, with legends Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Stosur set to lead the team on home soil when the event starts later this month.

Hewitt, who has been captain of the Australian Davis Cup team since 2016, is joined by Stosur, who has also been picked as one of eight players in the team and is expected to feature in the mixed doubles.

Lleyton Hewitt helped Australia reach the Davis Cup final. Picture: Thomas Coex/AFP

The tournament starts on December 29 and will be played in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, with some of the biggest names in the world set to compete.

Australia has been drawn in the same group as Spain and Great Britain, which means Nick Kyrgios will face 22-time grand slam final winner Rafael Nadal in a blockbuster match just days before the Australian Open starts.

World No.1 women’s player Iga Swiatek will lead the Polish charge, while Greece will be hard to beat with world No.4 Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari set to dominate their singles matches.

Rafael Nadal is one of the headline acts. Picture: Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images

There are other big-name captains for the event, with Tim Henman in charge of Great Britain, while former world No.2 Agnieszka Radwanska will lead team Poland.

The United Cup kicks off a massive summer of tennis, with the four group winners to advance to the finals in Sydney where teams are competing for roughly $22m.