Poland advances to face US in the semifinals of the United Cup

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Poland will play the United States in the semifinals of the United Cup after beating Australia 2-1 in Sydney on Friday.

It took a mixed doubles decider to separate the teams, with Iga Swiatek winning in the women's singles for the Poles and Alex de Minaur triumphing for Australia in the men's.

In the doubles, Jan Zielinski and Katarzyna Kawa won 6-4, 6-0 against John-Patrick Smith and Storm Hunter to set up a rematch of last year's final against the U.S. in Saturday's semis.

No. 2-ranked Swiatek will face No. 4 Coco Gauff. Hubert Hurkacz, ranked 83rd, faces No. 9 Taylor Fritz.

This is the fourth time in a row Poland has advanced to the semifinals.

Swiatek beat Maya Joint 6-1, 6-1 in less than hour, but De Minaur overcame Hurkacz 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to force a decider in the doubles.

The U.S., the defending champion, advanced to the semifinals after a 2-1 win against Greece in Perth on Wednesday.

Earlier Friday, tournament organizers announced that due to extreme heat forecast in Sydney, Saturday's semifinal between Belgium and Switzerland had been brought forward by 30 minutes to 10 a.m. local time.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Iga Swiatek of Poland runs to play a shot to Maya Joint of Australia during their quarterfinal match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Hubert Hurkacz of Poland celebrates winning the second set against Alex de Minaur of Australia during their quarterfinal match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Alex de Minaur of Australia celebrates jis win over Hurkacz of Poland during their quarterfinal match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Katarzyna Kawa, left, and Jan Ziellinski of Poland celebrate their win over Storm Hunter and John-Patrick Smith of Australia during their quarterfinal doubles match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Iga Swiatek of Poland hits a backhand to Maya Joint of Australia during their quarterfinal match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that he will allow service members to carry personal weapons onto military installations, citing the Second Amendment and recent shootings at bases across the country.

In a video posted to X, Hegseth said he is signing a memo that will direct base commanders to allow requests for troops to carry privately owned firearms “with the presumption that it is necessary for personal protection.”

He said any denial of a service member's request must be explained in detail and in writing.

“Effectively, our bases across the country were gun-free zones,” Hegseth said. “Unless you're training or unless you are a military policeman, you couldn't carry, you couldn't bring your own firearm for your own personal protection onto post.”

Questions about why service members lacked access to weapons have often emerged following shootings on the nation's military bases. Such shootings have ranged from isolated events between service members to mass casualty events, such as the shootings by an Army psychiatrist at Texas’ Ford Hood in 2009 that left 13 people dead.

Hegseth cited some of the events in his video, including a shooting that injured five soldiers at Fort Stewart in Georgia last year. Officials said the shooter, an Army sergeant who worked at the base, used his personal handgun before he was tackled by fellow soldiers and arrested.

“In these instances, minutes are a lifetime,” Hegseth said. “And our service members have the courage and training to make those precious, short minutes count.”

Defense Department policy has prohibited military personnel from carrying personal weapons on base without permission from a senior commander, with strict protocol for how the firearms must be stored.

Typically, military personnel must officially check their guns out of secure storage to go to on-base hunting areas or shooting ranges, then check all firearms back in promptly after their sanctioned use. Military police are often the only armed personnel on base, outside of shooting ranges, hunting areas or in training, where soldiers can wield their service weapons without ammunition.

Tanya Schardt, senior counsel at the Brady gun violence prevention organization, said in a statement that Defense Department leaders and the military’s top brass have opposed relaxing the current policy, which was originally enacted under President George H.W. Bush.

Schardt noted that most active duty service members who die by suicide do so with a weapon they own personally, not one military-issued, and argued that there will “undoubtedly be an increase in gun suicide and other gun violence.”

While fewer American service members died by suicide in 2024, the suicide rates among active duty troops overall still have gradually increased between 2011 and 2024, according to a Pentagon report released Tuesday.

“Our military installations are among the most guarded, protected properties in the world, and they’ve never been ‘gun-free zones,’” Schardt said. “If there is a problem with violent crime on these installations, then the Secretary of Defense has an obligation to alert the American people and describe how he’s working to prevent that crime.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)