The United Cup group stage reached a thrilling crescendo in the final session between Australia and Great Britain, with the Europeans topping the group after the first match to book their spot in the quarter-finals.
However, despite being unable to clinch the group, Australia were not completely out of the tournament, with the possibility of finishing as the 'best runner-up' across the Sydney groups looming large. With the Aussies requiring a Herculean feat of conceding only seven games in two matches to qualify, they fell just short.
However, in the aftermath, questions have been raised over the integrity of this system and concerns that it favours teams in weak groups.
In Sydney, Czechia received the best runner-up spot after a win over Norway and a tight loss to Poland in their two matches. While this group was undoubtedly difficult, featuring top players like Iga Świątek, Hubert Hurkacz and Casper Ruud, Czechia also had the opportunity to boost their game percentage win rate with dominant wins over Malene Helgø and Viktor Durasovic, who both rank outside the top-400 in singles and doubles.
In Perth, it was a similar story, as China booked their runner-up spot in the quarter-finals with a dominant victory over a weakened Brazilian line-up, missing their top men’s singles player and top women’s doubles player due to non-selection and injury respectively.
Interestingly, if Australia had received the best runner-up spot, other teams would have been able to raise legitimate protestations that the Australians had the opportunity to improve their game percentage win rate in the two final matches against Great Britain, which had no stakes for them but huge stakes for the Aussies. This was evident by the choice of mixed doubles combination for Great Britain, with Katie Boulter, who had played the live rubber two days prior, sitting out of the mixed against the hosts.
After losing the tie against the British, Australia captain Lleyton Hewitt was circumspect over whether the team felt that the format was fair to them.
"We know the rules coming in, and you're only up against the teams that you get put against," he said. "We've known for a month or so now who we're playing against… It is what it is. You live and die by that."
Tournament Director Stephen Farrow indicated that there are no plans to change the format, pointing to a need to avoid "dead rubbers" and increased excitement towards the end of the competition.
"It keeps the excitement in the competition right to the end, and it makes sure that every set counts. I think it's worked really well," he said.
"The one thing you don't want is to have a situation where only the group winner comes through from a group because otherwise, you can end up having dead matches. So having a situation where you've got the winner and then there's still something else for the other teams to compete for means that more or less every match is going to have something riding on it."
Farrow also revealed that the reaction to the format from players has been generally positive, with general interest among players high as the Australia v Great Britain tie reached fever pitch.
"I just had Iga Świątek asking me how Australia can still qualify, so it’s a good talking point. It’s actually more exciting and provokes discussion," Farrow concluded.
Indeed, the Polish team was generally complimentary of the format when asked in the press, with Hubert Hurkacz and captain Mateusz Terczynski believing it keeps the tournament more interesting.
"I think that makes every single match count and every single set count, mixed doubles count," said Hurkacz. "So I think it brings more energy for each singles match. I think it's good for the sport."
Terczynski added: "I think it's a great solution because the field is really even. There are so many strong teams. One team should get a chance to go through even if they go second because there are so many great players and so many good teams, and why not?"
Świątek also said that she thought it made the format interesting, but suggested that it became a bit of a "lottery" for the second-placed teams.
"Being able to go through from second place is kind of like a lottery," she said. "You can't predict which side will matter. So, as Hubi said, you have to push for everything and this is what makes it interesting."
With the competition still in relative infancy and continuing to evolve, there is only a relatively small sample size to analyse whether the "best runner-up" system allows the best teams to make it through to the quarter-finals of the competition. In any case, perhaps it is the case that the entertainment value supersedes potential issues of integrity should they arise in a more obvious way in future years.
However, given that the tournament carries ranking points and significant prize money, there is a risk that if the format produces an anomalous result in future years, there could be more serious adverse attention on the format and the competition more broadly.
But, at least for now, the unique format is here to stay and has, without a doubt, produced some thrilling moments at the denouement of the group stage.
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