Players gear up for United Cup as they arrive in Australia

Tennis stars have begun arriving in Australia ahead of the United Cup, a mixed-team tournament that will herald the start of the new season and provide some preparation for next month's Australian Open.

The event will take place in Sydney and Perth from December 27 to January 5, featuring 18 teams, 

Among those arriving in Perth over the weekend were Germany's Alexander Zverev, Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime and Zhang Zhizhen who will lead Team China in the campaign. China's Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen will skip the event to stay fresh for the Australian Open. 

Local players are also hoping to improve on their previous record, after they fell to Germany in the quarterfinals last year. 

"Yeah, I don't know how to explain it. It's, yeah, it's almost surreal that it's just a whole year later and here we are again facing almost the same opponents, but yeah, it's going to be interesting once again. Last year was the case, and hopefully, you know, we can we can play some good tennis," said Australia's men's singles world number 9, Alex de Minaur.