Gaël Monfils rounds out Ultimate Tennis Showdown, joins Nick Kyrgios, Taylor Fritz in Los Angeles

Frenchman Gaël Monfils is the eighth and final player to announce his participation for the latest UTS tournament, to be played 21 to 23 July in Los Angeles, which stages this revolutionary tennis competition for the first time.

Monfils rounds out a cast of the most spectacular players in men's tennis, including:

• Nick Kyrgios (Australia) — "King Kyrgios"
• Taylor Fritz (USA) — "The Hotshot"
• Frances Tiafoe (USA) — "Big Foe"
• Ben Shelton (USA) — "The Mountain"
• Yibing Wu (China) — "The Great Wall"
• Alexander Bublik (Kazakhstan) — "The Bublik Enemy"
• Diego Schwartzman (Argentina) — "El Peque"

In a competition where players are known by nicknames, Monfils will, of course, be called "La Monf", the classy and French nickname given to him by his Parisian pals since his youth.

The nicknames are part of UTS's effort to bring tennis closer to a new, younger and more connected audience. UTS matches are played in four, eight-minute quarters, inspired by basketball, one of many innovations that will be offered to the 21,000 spectators expected in Los Angeles over three days.

Held at Dignity Health Sports Park, the UTS tournament, the first of four events in 2023, can also announce today the draw of the two round-robin groups.

Group A:

• Taylor Fritz, The Hotshot
• Nick Kyrgios, King Kyrgios
• Yibing Wu, The Great Wall
• Diego Schwartzman, El Peque

Group B:

• Frances Tiafoe, Big Foe
• Ben Shelton, The Mountain
• Alexander Bublik, The Bublik Enemy
• Gaël Monfils, La Monf

UTS is played in a round-robin format. All players in each pool play each other once, i.e. three matches in two days for all players.

The top two in each group qualify for the Final Four; two semi-finals and a final played on 23 July.

This format assures that all ticket-holders will see each of the eight players in action on both 21 and 22 July. Ticketing opened on May 3.

Conceived in 2020 by the renowned coach and entrepreneur Patrick Mouratoglou, under the name Ultimate Tennis Showdown, UTS was designed to be an innovative tennis show, closer to the habits of connected audiences and breaking with the traditionally strict discipline imposed on players on the regular Tours.

Reminder of UTS format:

• One-hour matches with 4 quarters
• Less time (15 seconds) between points and no second serve
• Unlimited coaching from the sidelines
• Bonus cards (soon revealed)

The remaining two legs of the UTS Tour in 2023 will take place in Europe (15-17 September) and Asia/Middle-East (1-3 December), before a "Grand Final" on 8-10 December. The exact locations will be revealed in the coming weeks.