The top seed completed a commanding title run at the mixed teams’ event with a 2-0 victory against Team Poland on Sunday in Sydney. After the inspired Coco Gauff saw off her rival Iga Swiatek and Taylor Fritz edged Hubert Hurkacz, the United States recaptured the title it won at the inaugural United Cup in 2023.
“It’s amazing. It’s almost more fun to win the team events because you have people to celebrate with afterwards,” said Fritz. “Coco made it easy for me as the MVP on the team; it definitely helped my job a lot and its great to get it a second time.”
Gauff, who finished the event with a perfect 5-0 record in singles, celebrated her crucial victory against Swiatek with a ‘shovel’ celebration. Symbolic of the infectious team spirit that exuded from the American camp throughout their campaign, the No. 3 in the PIF WTA Rankings later explained its meaning.
“It came from Denis [Kudla]. I think it started in my match against China,” recalled Gauff. “I was playing [Zhang] Shuai, and she was playing really great tennis. He was like, ‘Great digging, keep digging’. Then the shovel celebration came from him. I just kind of took it and ran with it. That was the theme of the week for me.”
Credit: ATP Tour
