BRISBANE: Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon women's singles champion, will spearhead the Czech Republic's effort in the 18-nation mixed team competition's first United Cup, which gets underway next week in three venues in Australia.

The United Cup will take the place of the ATP Cup, and the 11-day competition will be played concurrently in Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth.

Taking place from December 29 to January 3, the group stage will be played. Two groups of three nations will compete in a round-robin style in each city. Ties will consist of two ATP and two WTA singles matches between the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked players, as well as one mixed doubles match. Matches will be played over two days. After singles, if the score is still tied at 2-2, the winner of the mixed doubles match will be determined.

To decide which team will advance to the United Cup Final Four, the winners of each of the two groups will compete in the City Final on January 4. The team that finished second in the City Final and had the best record after three games will be the fourth team.

Kvitova expressed excitement about competing in the brand-new team competition. "As you are well aware, I enjoy team competitions.  It will be hilarious to play on the same team as Marie Bouzkova, Jessica Muchcova, and the males Jiri Lehecka, Tomas Machac, and Dalibor Svrcina.

Kvitova expressed her excitement for the team competition to begin the season in 2023, saying, "I can't wait to start the season in that."

Since joining the Czech Republic's Billie Jean King Cup team in 2007, Kvitova has excelled in team events. She has assisted her country in winning six titles, in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018. She has a stellar Billie Jean King Cup singles win-loss record of 30-10.

Greece, Belgium, and Bulgaria are the participating teams in Perth, while France, Croatia, and Argentina are in Group F. Group A consists of these teams. While Group C teams the United States, Germany, and the Czech Republic and Group D teams Spain, Australia, and Great Britain will play their matches in Sydney, Group B teams Poland, Switzerland, and Kazakhstan together with Group E rivals Italy, Brazil, and Norway will compete in Brisbane.

YouTube signs USD 2 bn annual deal for NFL 'Sunday Ticket'

FC Goa snatch late 2-2 draw against Jamshedpur

Real Madrid to sign PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe in 1 billion Euros - reports