On January 1st, two quarterfinal matches concluded in the 2025 United Cup Tennis Mixed Team Tournament. The Chinese team lost 0-2 to the American team, while Kazakhstan defeated the defending champions, Germany, 2-0. As a result, two of the top four spots have been secured, with Kazakhstan and the United States set to face each other in the semifinals.
This year's United Cup saw China fielding a team composed of Zhang Zhizhen, Zhang Shuai, Sun Fajing, Gao Xinwei, and Bai Yan. Due to Zheng Qinwen's withdrawal from the competition, Gao Xinwei stepped in as a replacement.
In the group stage, China achieved a 3-0 victory over Brazil before falling 1-2 to the reigning champions, Germany. Despite this setback, China managed to secure one of the best second-place finishes in their group, allowing them to reach the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.
Facing a formidable American team led by Gauff, who had won both of their group stage matches, China made a last-minute change to their lineup, with Zhang Shuai taking on the women's singles. In the first set, Zhang Shuai broke serve three times, only to see Gauff break back each time. The match went into a tiebreak, which Zhang Shuai ultimately lost 4-7. In the second set, Zhang Shuai struggled with multiple breaks of serve, losing 2-6, giving the Americans a 1-0 lead.
In the men's singles match, Zhang Zhizhen faced off against Fritz. Zhang Zhizhen lost the first set 4-6 and, despite putting up a valiant fight in the second set, was unable to overcome the deficit, losing another set 4-6 to Fritz.
With this victory, the American team advanced to the semifinals with a perfect record, while the Chinese team was eliminated from the competition. Last year, China also reached the quarterfinals under the leadership of Zheng Qinwen but was defeated by Poland.
Meanwhile, both Kazakhstan and Germany topped their respective groups in the preliminary round. While Kazakhstan had never previously advanced beyond the quarterfinals, Germany had claimed the championship in the previous edition of the event, only to be surprisingly eliminated this time around.
In the first women's singles match, world number six, Rybakina, continued her impressive form, defeating Siegemund in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1. Following this, in the men's singles, Shevchenko staged a comeback after losing the first set in a tiebreak (5-7), winning the next two sets 6-2, 6-2 to secure a 2-0 victory for Kazakhstan and their first-ever spot in the United Cup semifinals.
Germany's consecutive losses were partly attributed to Zverev's withdrawal due to injury. The world number two male singles player had to be replaced by Musser, ranked 254th in the world.