Emma Raducanu to join forces with Jack Draper for Team GB after ending seasons early

Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper are expected to team up and represent Great Britain at the United Cup in January. The British No. 1s in the WTA and ATP rankings were both forced to end their 2025 seasons early. But they are already looking ahead to next year, and have reportedly signed up for the mixed-gender team tournament.

It will be a tournament debut for both players. In previous years, Katie Boulter has been part of the British squad at the United Cup, landing herself in an tough spot whenever GB faced Australia, meaning she was up against her fiance, ATP star Alex de Minaur.

But there will be no awkward encounters this time around, with Raducanu and Draper spearheading the team as the No. 1 players for Britain for the first time, according to News.com.au.

Raducanu has previously represented GB at the Billie Jean King Cup - essentially the World Cup of women's tennis - but she pulled out of the BJK Cup squad twice this year. However, she's looking forward to her United Cup debut.

"I'm honoured to be able to make my United Cup debut in January," the world No. 29 said. "Being able to play for Team GB with my teammates is a unique opportunity and week to enjoy. It's great to be able to experience a new format on the tour, represent my country and spend a couple extra weeks in Australia."

Draper added: "I am excited to get back on court and compete in the United Cup, I'll be looking out for the draw to see if Team GB will play in Perth or Sydney. I haven't been to either, so it will be nice to compete in a brand new city in Australia."

De Minaur and Maya Joint will represent Australia, while world No. 2 Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz have already committed to returning for Team Poland. The United Cup gets underway on January 2, with group matches staged across Sydney and Perth.

It will be both Raducanu and Draper's first tour-level appearances since they were forced to shut down their 2025 seasons. Draper was sidelined by an arm injury after Wimbledon and returned seven weeks later at the US Open.

He joined forces with Jessica Pegula in the mixed doubles event, where they took out Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz en route to the semi-finals. But Draper played just one singles match before withdrawing from the US Open and ending his season with bone bruising in his left arm.

Raducanu, meanwhile, had a tricky Asian swing after the US Open. She lost two matches after holding multiple match points, and was forced to retire from the Wuhan Open in the first round, citing dizziness.

After suffering a shock early exit at the Ningbo Open and having her vitals checked mid-match, the 2021 US Open champion pulled out of her last two tournaments of the year for health reasons. It is understood that she had been unwell for a few days during the Asian swing but attempted to play on.

Draper will return at the UTS London exhibition event in December, while Raducanu is set to face Amanda Anisimova in a one-off exhibition match in Miami. Then, they will head Down Under to start their 2026 seasons at the United Cup, before looking ahead to the Australian Open.