Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz visit Rottnest Island on the eve of the United Cup | ATP Tour

United Cup

Gauff and Fritz visit Rottnest Island on the eve of the United Cup

The Americans lead the action in Perth since Saturday

December 26, 2024

American top seeds Taylor Fritz and Coco Gauff visited iconic Rottnest Island on Thursday ahead of the start of the new season this Friday with the United Cup in Perth. Sydney’s United Cup competition will begin on Saturday.

Fritz, at a career-best No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings, and World No. 3 Gauff strolled through the picturesque Basin, took selfies with the endemic quokkas and enjoyed the famous ‘Cray Dog’, a Typical Western Australian lobster roll.

Gauff was accompanied by her parents and little brothers, Codey and Cameron.

“It’s nice to bring my family here. It’s my first Christmas away from home. It’s important for them to be able to join me,” Gauff said. “They’re on Christmas vacation, being able to see a different part of the world is nice.”

Taylor Fritz pose for a selife with a quokka on Rottnest Island.” src=”https://www.atptour.com/-/media/images/news/2024/12/26/10/13/fritz-gauff-perth-quokka-2025.jpg” style=”color: #999999; background-color: #f9f9f9; width: 100%;”>

_{Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz take a selfie with a quokka on Rottnest Island. Photography: Getty Images}

Fritz was part of the American champion team in the inaugural edition in 2023. Gauff, who finished the 2024 season by winning the WTA Finals, faces her debut in the tournament.

“This is my third visit to Perth, having played the ATP Cup here in 2020. I am quite familiar with the city and very happy to return to Perth,” said Fritz, who closed the 2024 season by playing in the final of the Nitto ATP Finals and with a balance of 53-23 according to Infosys ATP Stats. “Coco and I gained some experience playing mixed doubles at the Olympics, hopefully that will help us.”

Despite being the first seed, Fritz stated that the American team needs to set short-term goals. “We must focus on overcoming the group, we didn’t even achieve that last year. We must analyze the teams in front of us before thinking more there.”

The action begins on Friday in Perth and on Saturday in Sydney. Both cities will host the group stage and the quarterfinals. The semi-finals and final will be held exclusively in Sydney between January 4 and 5.

The United States will play its first match on Sunday night with two highly anticipated individual duels. Fritz will face Felix Auger-Aliassime, whom he leads 2-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head history. Gauff will meet Leylah Fernández, former US Open finalist.