Hubert Hurkacz returned from injury with a commanding performance, firing 21 aces to defeat Alexander Zverev and set the tone for Poland’s 3-0 sweep of Germany at the United Cup in Sydney.

Hurkacz, making his first match appearance since June 2025, upset Zverev 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 24 minutes. Formerly world No. 6 and currently ranked No. 83, Hurkacz saved the only break point he faced while his serve repeatedly overpowered the world No. 3.

The tie opened with Hurkacz’s win, and WTA world No. 2 Iga Swiatek followed by defeating Eva Lys to give Poland an insurmountable lead. The mixed doubles pairing of Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski then closed out the day with a 7-6 (6), 6-3 victory over Alexander Zverev and Laura Siegemund to complete the sweep.

A frustrated Zverev was vocal during a changeover, addressing his father and coach, Alexander Zverev Sr., a former top Soviet Union player. “Why am I not serving? No, he hasn’t played in two f###ing years and he comes out serving at 230 km/h,” Zverev ranted in Russian. “In the evening, when it’s cold, f###. It’s f###ing crazy. The guy can barely f###ing walk, and he’s serving.”

The result put Poland (1-0) atop Group F after two days of round-robin play. Germany (1-1) sits second in the group after sweeping all three matches against the Netherlands (0-1). Poland will face the Netherlands on Wednesday in the final Group F match.

For Hurkacz, the victory marked the 20th Top 10 win of his career and represented an encouraging step in his comeback. “(I’m) just very happy to be back competing again,” Hurkacz said during Team Poland’s press conference. “It was a difficult match against Sascha, and I was quite happy with my performance. ]

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Four days into the season at the United Cup, several established players and newcomers are still finding their rhythm.

Recent results from Day 4 included Casper Ruud following a win over Alex de Minaur with a loss to Jakub Mensik. Alexander Zverev, after winning his opening match, lost to Hubert Hurkacz. Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz finished the day with 1-1 singles records.

The most notable outcomes on the women’s side saw Iga Swiatek win her 2026 debut over Eva Lys, with Lys pushing the match to 6-4 in the third set. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, ranked 40th, beat Gauff 6-1 in the first set and 6-0 in the third. Maria Sakkari recorded consecutive quality wins over Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu; coming in, she was 0-4 against the Brit.

At the competition midpoint the group leaders are: A: USA; B: China; C: Switzerland; D: Czechia; E: Greece; F: Germany.

Day 5 highlights and scheduling:

Sydney
– Canada vs. Belgium (10:30 A.M. local; 6:30 P.M. ET)
– Australia vs. Czechia (5:30 P.M. local; 1:30 A.M. ET)

Perth
– Italy vs. France (10:00 A.M. local; 9:00 P.M. ET)

Key individual matches in Perth:
– Victoria Mboko vs. Elise Mertens: The 19-year-old Canadian meets the 30-year-old Belgian for the first time. Each won her opening match.
– Maya Joint vs. Barbora Krejcikova: Another 19-year-old versus 30-year-old pairing and a first meeting. Joint was scheduled to play two days ago but was ill.
– Alex de Minaur vs. Jakub Mensik: Mensik is 20 and has already lost to De Minaur four times.
– Flavio Cobolli vs. Arthur Rinderknech: The 30-year-old Frenchman leads their head-to-head 2-1; the 23-year-old Italian is described as the man on the rise.

Day 5 also records two team results: Canada d. Belgium 2-1 and Australia d. Czechia 2-1.

Elena Vesnina has pushed back after Veronika Kudermetova said part of her 2025 interview on Vesnina’s podcast was broadcast without consent. The former WTA doubles No. 1, now a full-time analyst and podcaster since retiring in 2024, defended the episode and her production team.

“My interview with Veronika was one of the first I had done for my podcast last year,” Vesnina said. “I would have never posted anything that my guest had a problem with or asked for me to remove, nor would my production team have put it on the air.”

Kudermetova, the married world No. 30, objected to an anecdote included in the podcast cold open in which she recounted an ATP player, Holger Rune, contacting her on social media. “It was just a private conversation between me and Elena Vesnina while we were setting up the cameras before the interview; I didn’t think they would include it in the final version,” Kudermetova said. “That is, the story about Rune was off-camera. I even asked them not to include that segment. But in the end, the podcast was released, and it turned out to be quite provocative.”

Vesnina said her team discussed the material with Kudermetova immediately after the interview and that no objection was raised at the time. “We discussed the comments with her straight away after the interview and she didn’t tell us there was anything couldn’t publish,” Vesnina said. “But this situation has gotten out of control. For me, it was not necessary to bring so much attention to this situation.”

Kudermetova expressed regret that Rune faced criticism and ridicule after the anecdote circulated. The story was later reiterated by Anna Kalinskaya in a separate interview with Anna Chakvetadze. Vesnina reflected on the wider implications: “Veronika is not the only player to have told a story like this,” Vesnina said. “I think we’ve all learned something from this. When it comes to Holger, I think it was a good lesson for him to be more careful.”

A two-time Olympic medalist and four-time Grand Slam doubles champion, Vesnina has been visible in media coverage; she went viral last fall after pressing world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz about his relationship status at the ATP Finals. “I’m free!” smiled Alcaraz.