Coco Gauff, Taylor Fritz endure exhausting 19+ hour travel to reach United Cup; Amanda Anisimova presents more fun side of Australia

Team USA members Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz arrived in Perth, Australia, on Sunday, December 28, to kick off their title defense at the 2026 United Cup. The first tour event of the 2026 season will be played in Perth and Sydney, starting on January 2.

Top-ranked Americans Gauff and Fritz were part of Team USA, which beat Poland in the 2025 final. Gauff, who defeated title favorite Iga Swiatek in the final of the 2025 United Cup, shared an update on her Instagram stories after reaching Perth.

The WTA World No. 3 uploaded a picture of the goodies she received from the event organizers and wrote:

"Finally made it! 25 hours spent in the air, 38 hours of complete travel time all together."

Taylor Fritz also shared a picture of himself looking exhausted after a long flight to Perth and wrote:

"After 19 hours of flying we have made it."

Meanwhile, Amanda Anisimova also arrived in Australia for the Brisbane International event. After a breakthrough 2025 season, the 24-year-old came close to dethroning Gauff as the top-ranked American, but fell short by less than 500 points. Anisimova shared a mirror selfie after reaching Australia on Sunday.

Screenshot of Coco Gauff, Taylor Fritz, and Amanda Anisimova's Instagram stories on December 28, 2025- Image source - Instagram@amandaanisimova,cocogauff,taylor_fritz

Meanwhile, Amanda Anisimova will kick off her 2026 season at the Brisbane International event on January 5. After arriving in Brisbane, she visited her best friend and Australian tennis player, Priscilla Hon. The World No. 4 shared a picture of them hanging out together on Instagram, and added a caption, writing:

"I like it here 💅🏼."

Priscilla Hon also gave Amanda Anisimova a car ride on the streets of Brisbane. Unlike her exhausted compatriots, Taylor Fritz and Coco Gauff, the 2025 US Open finalist looked delighted to be in Australia for the first time and seemed to be enjoying a car ride on her way to Hon's apartment in Brisbane.

The top-seeded United States is in Group A with Spain and Argentina, and will begin its title defense on January 3.

Coco Gauff receives warm welcome on her return to Australia

Coco Gauff enjoyed a decent 2025 season. She won the French Open title but failed to make the semifinals of the other three majors. She concluded the 2025 season after a group stage exit at the WTA Finals in Riyadh and is set to kick off the next season at the United Cup.

The 21-year-old was brilliant in the 2025 United Cup, where she recorded five consecutive straight-set wins. Gauff stunned the title favorite, Iga Swiatek, in the final as Team USA won its second title in three years. Meanwhile, despite her exhausting and long flight to Perth, Gauff looked excited when she received a warm welcome from fans and organizers at the airport.

The United Cup organizers and WTA shared a video of Gauff's arrival on Instagram, writing:

"Queen @cocogauff back to defend Team USA’s title."

Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz will be joined by their Team USA members Varvara Lepchenko, Nicole Melichar-Martinez, Mackenzie McDonald, and Christian Harrison at the 2026 United Cup.

Edited by Hitesh Nigam