One of the primary reasons for the formation of the United Cup was to showcase equality at the highest level of professional tennis.
This mixed-ender team event pools 18 of the top tennis countries to compete for ranking points, a 24-carat gold-plated trophy, and massive sums of prize money. In its second edition, the tournament committed a whopping US$10 million to be shared across both tours ($5 million each).
Aside from its unique format, the United Cup remunerates all its participants regardless of whether they played during the event. For top players like Iga Swiatek, Novak Djokovic, and Alexander Zverev, prize money is almost invariably not a motivating factor.
But for the lesser-ranked players who struggle to make ends meet and break even through earnings, it is cause enough for celebration being nominated for selection by the team captains.
This year's United Cup was shockingly won by Germany, who entered the event seeded a low of 16th but upset host nation Australia and tournament favorites Poland in back-to-back ties to clinch the title last Sunday.
Kai Wehnelt, Germany's doubles player on the team, did not even partake in a match court (aside from practice sessions) but walked away with $57,330 despite not playing a single match, due to the winnings given to every member of the team. It was almost half of his career earnings on a tennis court.
Wehnelt, 28, has a career-high ranking of No. 513 in singles but has featured predominantly in doubles, breaking the world's Top 150 in that discipline. He has never played on the ATP Tour but is a regular on the ITF circuit, earning career prize money amounting to $109,781.
Germany was the second-highest country in the prize money list at the 2024 United Cup behind Poland. Their total compensation equaled US$1,328,040. Their talisman, Alexander Zverev, who saved championship points in the final, made $739,185 - the second-most of all players, behind overall leader Iga Swiatek.
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