United Cup
Mixed doubles decides the tie for Australia
Ruud could not prevent the local victory, despite beating De Minaur (2-1)
January 03, 2026
Jason McCawley/Getty Images
Storm Hunter and John-Patrick Smith gave Australia the decisive point against Norway in the United Cup.
by this ATEDIDE ATP
Victory stays at home.
Australia, host country of the United Cup, beat Norway in its debut in the competition, thanks to the decisive point in the mixed doubles this Saturday in Sydney.
Storm Hunter and John-Patrick Smith closed the series in favor of the team led by Lleyton Hewitt, after beating Ulrikke Eikeri and Viktor Durasovic 4-6, 6-1, 10-4 in one hour and 17 minutes.
“Storm was the architect of everything… I was on the court, I was participating,” Smith praised his teammate and protagonist of two of Australia’s points. “He scored well, he moved well. He had very good control of all his shots. It was a great victory and a great comeback as well. It is never easy to play against a good team.”
Shortly before, Casper Ruud had given hope to his country with a performance that gives hope for his 2026. The Norwegian performed at a high level to beat local star Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 34 minutes, which allowed Norway to tie the tie against Australia 1-1.
“I’m happy to have gotten this great start,” Ruud told ATP No. 1 Club member Jim Courier in the courtside interview. “Beating Alex here in Australia is one of the toughest challenges we have in tennis, so I’m very happy to have added it to my resume.”
Ruud played aggressively and decisively, preventing De Minaur from feeling comfortable at any time. The former No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings saved all five break chances he conceded and was able to pressure his rival’s serve, winning three of the ten break chances he had.
“It’s a great start to the new season,” Ruud added. “I think we saw Alex in better shape than today. He made some unforced errors that he doesn’t usually do, so I got some free points. He had trouble with his serve at the beginning, so I got a free break and I grew from there.”
The first tie of Group D is decided in the mixed doubles, after the local Storm Hunter ahead of their country 1-0 in the first match of the afternoon.
And Australia had opened its participation in the United Cup 2026 by adding a point, thanks to Hunter’s performance against Malene Helgo 6-3, 7-6(3).
Hunter, 31, returned to competition last year after being sidelined for almost a year between March 2024 and March 2025 due to an Achilles injury. She was chosen at the last minute, after Australian No. 1 Maya Joint was absent due to illness.
The experienced left-handed player had an impeccable debut against the 26-year-old Norwegian, who is participating in the United Cup for the fourth time. Hunter managed to break serve twice to take the first set 6-2.
The second set was tighter, because Helgo —No. 532 of the WTA – dominated 4-1 but the Australian equalized 5-5 and ended up closing out the victory in the tie-break.
