Several prominent tennis players, including Naomi Osaka, Maria Sakkari, Solana Sierra, and Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, participated in Media Day at the United Cup in Perth. Discussions focused on their respective offseason preparations and objectives for the upcoming 2026 season, which is scheduled to commence on January 2.
Naomi Osaka's Perspective
Naomi Osaka commented on observing Belinda Bencic with her 1-year-old daughter. Osaka stated that her offseason activities prioritized spending time with her own daughter, Shai.
Following a 2025 season in which her PIF WTA Ranking rose from No. 57 to No. 16, Osaka addressed the challenge of balancing offseason training requirements with her responsibilities as a mother. She described the process as difficult and expressed her hope that she is managing these roles effectively.
Osaka indicated that motherhood, since July 2023, has influenced her competitive mindset. Previously, she stated she tended to define herself by match outcomes; however, she now approaches each day as a new opportunity and acknowledges that her primary role is as a mother. She is scheduled to compete in Group E of the United Cup, facing Maria Sakkari on January 2 and Emma Raducanu on January 4.
Maria Sakkari's 2026 Season Start
Maria Sakkari's participation in the United Cup followed an offseason dedicated to recovery from a shoulder injury that concluded her 2024 season prematurely. In May 2025, her ranking fell to No. 92 from an initial 31st at the Australian Open. Sakkari characterized the 2025 season as challenging but reported gaining valuable insights.
She completed five weeks of practice and noted improved physical health compared to the previous year. Sakkari expressed confidence in her ability to return to her career-high rank of No. 3, achieved in 2022. Her initial matches of the 2026 season will be against Grand Slam champions Osaka and Raducanu. Sakkari holds a 3-2 head-to-head record against Osaka, with their last encounter in 2021, and she is seeking her first victory against Raducanu. She stated her intention to implement recent training into her performance.
Sierra and Bouzas Maneiro's 2025 Progress
Argentina's Solana Sierra and Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro are scheduled to compete against World No. 3 Coco Gauff for the first time in Group A. Both players achieved career milestones during the 2025 season.
Bouzas Maneiro reached a career-high rank of No. 41. Her 2025 achievements included reaching the quarterfinals at the National Bank Open in Montreal and the Round of 16 at both Wimbledon and Cincinnati. She reported increased self-belief regarding her capability to win matches against top players. Bouzas Maneiro stated her expectation for more consistent tournament progression and continued competition at an elite level. She will open her United Cup campaign against Sierra before facing Gauff.
Sierra, aged 21, improved her ranking from outside the top 150 to No. 66 in 2025. This progression was supported by a Round of 16 appearance at Wimbledon as the first lucky loser to achieve this, along with winning a WTA 125 title in Mallorca, Spain, and a WTT 75 title in Bellinzona, Switzerland, making her Argentina's top-ranked female player. Sierra described 2025 as a successful year with achieved results and expressed enthusiasm for the upcoming season, considering the United Cup as preparation. Following the United Cup and the WTA 250 in Hobart, Sierra will make her main draw debut at the Australian Open, having previously lost in first-round qualifiers for the event.
United Cup Format
The United Cup employs a team competition structure. Maria Sakkari, a participant in every edition since its inception four years prior, highlighted the team environment as a notable and infrequent aspect of the annual tennis calendar. Naomi Osaka, making her debut at the event after withdrawing from the ASB Classic in Auckland to represent Japan, cited the team atmosphere and the opportunity to compete against highly ranked players early in the season as reasons for her participation.