SYDNEY — Taylor Fritz and Coco Gauff produced pulsating singles victories to lead the United States to its second United Cup title in three years in Sydney Sunday night, handing Poland its second consecutive runner-up finish in the process.

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After Gauff won an engrossing 6-4, 6-4 opening singles against Iga Swiatek that had Ken Rosewall Arena rocking, Fritz delivered the encore with a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(4) win over Hubert Hurkacz in a serve-dominated match that featured 30 aces and just three break points.

Beginning their campaign in Perth, where the top seeds won Group A, Gauff and Fritz brought to the United Cup the form that led them to banner seasons in 2024, culminating with Gauff winning the WTA Finals Riyadh (where she also defeated Swiatek) and Fritz finishing runner-up at the Nitto ATP Finals.

Gauff, who did not drop a set in five singles matches, begins the year at No.3 in the PIF WTA Rankings. Fritz, at a career-best No.4 in the PIF ATP Rankings, dropped his opening match to Felix Auger-Aliassime in Perth but then won four straight.

In a blockbuster showdown between two of the top two players in the world, Gauff repeated her feat from the WTA Finals Riyadh by toppling No.2 Swiatek for a second straight time. 

Gauff has done her part to begin to close the head-to-head gap against Swiatek, who had won 11 of their previous 13 matches. But after adding coach Matt Daly to her team after the US Open last fall, Gauff has enjoyed marked improvements in both her serve and forehand. The two shots were instrumental to her 6-3, 6-4 win over Swiatek during her title run at the WTA Finals in the fall and they proved the difference once again in Sydney. 

“I have the belief that I’m one of the best players in the world and when I play good tennis I’m hard to beat,” Gauff said. “Today I think I played some great tennis. I’m glad I was able to get a point for Team USA. It was tough today, I’m not gonna lie.”

Fans at Ken Rosewall Arena enjoyed a high-octane 1-hour and 52-minute duel, with the two WTA stars trading feats of power and speed all around the court. Gauff struck first, breaking with a perfect forehand volley to lead 2-0, before Swiatek reeled off three straight games to lead 3-2. 

But in a set that saw Swiatek strike 19 unforced errors to Gauff’s nine, the American’s superior consistency allowed her to win four of the next five games to win the physical first set. 

Gauff confidently marched through the second set. Not even a double fault on break point could stall the relentless American. She pulled the break back in an intense 10-minute game with her all-court counter-punching, leveling the set to 4-4 with a threaded forehand pass. Swiatek took a medical timeout before serving to stay in the match and Gauff broke one last time to seal the crucial win.

Gauff finished her United Cup singles debut undefeated, with additional wins over Leylah Fernandez, Donna Vekic, Zhang Shuai and Karolina Muchova. Swiatek finished 4-1, with wins over Malena Helgø, Muchova, Katie Boulter and Elena Rybakina.