While U.S. fans have been sleeping, their tennis players have come out of the gates fast in Australia

Is this the year that the American sporting media and public wakes up to the fact that its tennis players are doing a good job? It feels like a long shot at best. The country of Sampras, McEnroe, and Agassi will probably need a dominant male player to win two or three or four majors before it’s satisfied.

Which is unfortunate, because the U.S. game, on the men’s and women’s sides, has been strong overall for most of this decade. If the first week of this season is any indication, it might be stronger in 2026.

The headline event is United Cup, where the U.S. team is defending its title with an all-star one-two punch in Taylor Fritz and Coco Gauff. But the early success extends to Brisbane, Auckland, and Hong Kong, where six Americans—Jessica Pegula, Brandon Naskashima, Aleksander Kovacevic, Alex Michelsen, Iva Jovic, and Marcos Giron—have reached the semifinals.

Here’s a look at how they got there and who’ll they face.

United Cup

U.S. vs. Poland semifinals

Sydney (5:30 P.M. local time; 1:30 A.M. ET)

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This is a rematch of last year’s final, which the U.S. won 2-0. The same four singles players—Fritz, Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Hubert Hurkacz—will face off again.

Fritz vs. Hurkacz

These two have played six times, and Fritz has won four of those matches. Their United Cup encounter last year went to a third-set tiebreaker before the American prevailed. So far this week, though, Fritz has struggled, losing to Sebastian Baez and Stefanos Tsitsipas and scraping past Jaume Munar. Hurkacz, meanwhile, has a win over Alexander Zverev and a loss, last night, to Alex De Minaur. Will Fritz’s extra day’s rest make the difference?

Swiatek vs. Gauff

This is the match we’ve been waiting for at United Cup, and the one that will likely mean the most going forward in Australia. Once upon a time, Swiatek owned Gauff: She won 11 of their first 12 matches. Now the tables have turned in the American’s direction: She has won their last three, all in straight sets, including a 6-4, 6-4 victory at this event last year. All of which makes this an excellent test of both player’s weaknesses: Gauff will need to have work-in-progress serve in gear, while Swiatek will need to be much more consistent, especially from the forehand side, than she was against Coco in 2025.

Prediction: U.S. wins 2-1

Brisbane

Jessica Pegula vs. Marta Kostyuk (12:00 A.M ET)

Pegula’s push into the late rounds at majors began when she made the Australian Open quarters in 2021. She did it again in 2022 and 2023, and despite disappointing results there the last two years, she has always looked comfortable on the hard courts Down Under. She has started well again in Brisbane, with three hard-fought, quality wins, over Anna Kalinskaya, Dayana Yastremska, and Liudmila Samsonova. She’ll get another fight from another quality player in Marta Kostyuk in the semis. She leads the Ukrainian 4-1 in their head-to-head, and won both of their matches in 2025.

Brandon Nakashima vs. Aleksander Kovacevic (10 P.M. ET)

These two under-sung U.S. men will meet for the first time. Nakashima is younger (24 to 27) and higher-ranked (33 to 58), and thus is better-known and his future more highly touted. But based on his wins this week, Kovacevic is a player to keep a closer eye on in 2026. He has beaten Nick Kyrgios (never an easy task Down Under), former Top Tenner Cam Norrie, and towering power-server Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Kovacevic makes me think of one of commentator Robbie Koenig’s trademark compliments: He’s as tough as a two-dollar steak.

Alex Michelsen vs. Daniil Medvedev (3:30 A.M. ET)

Last year looked like a breakthrough was on the horizon for Michelsen. He was in his third season, so he knew the ropes. He made the fourth round at the Australian Open, the semis in Delray, and rose to a career-high No. 30. But he seemed to run out of gas down the stretch, losing in the first round at Wimbledon and the US Open and finishing 37th. Is this the year when the 6-foot-4, 21-year-old sustains it? He has beaten two countryman, Learner Tien and Sebastian Korda, in Brisbane. Now he’ll try to get his first win, in his third try, against Medvedev.

Auckland

Iva Jovic vs. Elina Svitolina (12:40 A.M. ET)

The most amazing thing about Jovic to me is that, after two seasons on tour, she’s still only 18. Like the other young Americans mentioned above, she seems poised to move higher than her current ranking of 35. What she lacks in size—the WTA unhelpfully lists her height as “N/A,” as in “not available”—she makes up for in speed and timing. This will be her first meeting with Svitolina.

Hong Kong

Marcos Giron vs. Alexander Bublik (3:40 A.M.)

U.S. players come in all ages and sizes these days, from the less-than-towering 18-year-old Jovic, to the 6’4, 21-year-old Michelsen, to the stocky, 5’11 Giron, who at 32 is playing as well and as energetically as ever. At his age, he’s probably past the point of breakthroughs, but he has also been ranked much higher than his current 64—so there’s still room for improvement in 2026. And he’s 3-1 against Bublik.