PERTH, Australia (AP) — After a singles loss and social media drama earlier in the week, Coco Gauff did all her talking on court Wednesday in the United Cup quarterfinals.
Gauff won twice — once in singles and then a clinching victory in mixed doubles — to send the Americans into the semifinals in Sydney on Saturday.
Gauff beat Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-2 to give the defending champion United States a 1-0 lead over Greece. Taylor Fritz, affected by knee tendinitis, had a chance in his singles match to clinch the quarterfinal against Stefanos Tsitsipas, but lost 6-4 7-5. That sent the quarterfinal match to a mixed doubles decider.
In that match, Gauff and Christian Harrison beat Tsitsipas and Sakkari 4-6, 6-4, 10-8. It was on track for a runaway in the third-set, 10-point tiebreaker when the Americans led 4-0 and 5-1, but the Greek pair rallied to level it at 6-6. Gauff and Harrison held on for the win.
“I think I was striking the ball well today, and when that happens, my movement on the court is also good,” Gauff said after her singles win. “I usually know it’s going to be a good day.”
On Monday, Gauff dropped a post on social media about a half-hour before she started her singles match, hoping to add context to her recent comments about American tennis fans.
The ensuing match didn’t go well for the No. 4-ranked Gauff, who lost the first five games and struggled in a 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-0 loss to No. 42 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. But Fritz won his singles match against Spain and Gauff and Harrison combined in mixed doubles to clinch top spot in Group A.
In a night quarterfinal at Perth later Wednesday, Switzerland advanced 2-1 over Argentina. Belinda Bencic beat Solana Sierra 6-2, 6-2 before Sebastian Baez leveled the match for Argentina with a 7-5, 6-4 win over retiring veteran Stan Wawrinka.
Bencic and Jakub Paul won the deciding mixed doubles 6-3, 6-3 over Maria Lourdes Carle and Guido Andreozzi, setting up a semifinal showdown for Switzerland against either Belgium or Czech Republic.
At Sydney, Hubert Hurkacz and Iga Świątek were victorious in their singles matches to give Poland a winning 2-0 lead over Netherlands and a place in the quarterfinals from Group F. Poland is expected to play Australia in the quarterfinals.
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Iga Swiatek of Poland hots a forehand to Suzan Lamens of Netherlands during their women's singles match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
FILE - Coco Gauff of the United States plays a forehand to Belinda Bencic of Switzerland during a women's singles match of the China Open tennis tournament, in Beijing, on Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A., File)
SYDNEY (AP) — England's players and management are undergoing a performance review following the 4-1 Ashes series defeat in Australia, with England Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould vowing to “implement the necessary changes over coming months.”
Gould issued a statement after England's five-wicket loss in the fifth test Thursday, highlighting disappointment in the campaign after the squad traveled to Australia with high expectations of ending a long drought Down Under.
The planning, tactics and preparation of head coach Brendon McCullum and cricket director Rob Key will be part of the review, along with “individual performances and behaviors” and the team's ability to adapt and react to conditions.
“This Ashes tour began with significant hope and anticipation, and it is therefore deeply disappointing that we have been unable to fulfill our ambition of winning the Ashes in Australia," Gould said. “While there were moments of strong performance and resilience during the series, including a hard-fought victory in the fourth test in Melbourne, we were not consistent enough across all conditions and phases of the contest.”
Gould said the cricket board was “determined to improve quickly” as the team prepares for the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup in India and Sri Lanka next month.
“We will implement the necessary changes over the coming months,” he said.
McCullum, the main architect of England's attack-at-all-costs approach that the tourists started the tour with, said he'd be open to minor changes but not a complete overhaul.
“You’ve got to have conviction in your methods,” he told the BBC. "You’re not against evolution and progress, but you’ve got to have conviction in what you believe in.
“It’s about nipping and tucking to try and get a better version of your style and your beliefs.”
McCullum said he'd “see what happens” with the review “but I firmly believe in how we go about trying to build this team and progress on what we’ve done.”
Australia retained the Ashes with wins in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide, before England's drought-breaking win in the fourth test in Melbourne made it 3-1 ahead of the test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Australia has won four consecutive home Ashes series since England's last win here in 2010-11.
England struggled this tour with injuries to key bowlers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, a heavy workload for skipper Ben Stokes which meant he couldn't bowl on the last day of the series, and a consistently flawed approach to batting in pressure situations.
England's fielding was also problematic across the series, with too many chances put down.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
England's Ben Stokes signs his autograph for a fan following the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Australia's Cameron Green, left, is congratulated by England's Jacob Bethell following the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
England's Ben Stokes, centre, gestures to teammate Brydon Carse, right, during play on the last day of the fifth and final Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Sydney, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
