Kyrgios, Fritz headline as UTS returns in Los Angeles for first of four events in 2023
The winner of each of the three regular-season UTS events will qualify for the Grand Final in December
Australian Nick Kyrgios and American Taylor Fritz will headline the fifth edition of the UTS, which is set to return with a bang in 2023 with four events, starting in Los Angeles.
Kyrgios and Fritz will join Diego Schwartzman and five other players, to be named soon, for the first of three regular events in 2023, to be held from July 21-23 at the Dignity Health Sport Park in Los Angeles.
“King Kyrgios” makes his UTS debut
Kyrgios, the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2022, one of the most exciting and entertaining players in the world, will make his debut in UTS as “King Kyrgios” while top-10 star Fritz “The Hotshot” returns, having played in the previous edition of the innovative competition and finished runner-up to Corentin Moutet in UTS4.
“The event is expected to be an unbelievable sports show in an arena designed for high level tennis,” the UTS said in a press release. “Owned by AEG, the leading global sporting and music entertainment company, Dignity Health Sport’s Park is a 7,200-seat tennis stadium, also set to host numerous upcoming events leading up to the tennis competition at the 2028 Olympic Games, taking place in Los Angeles.
Revolutionary format popular with fans worldwide
UTS, the brainchild of Patrick Mouratoglou, began in 2020 as tennis adjusted to life in lockdown from Covid-19, while the ATP and WTA Tours were suspended for six months. The format – shorter, action-packed matches played over four quarters of 8 minutes, with less time between points, unlimited coaching from the sidelines and chats with commentators at the end of each quarter – has proved hugely popular with fans from all over the world.
Its innovative rules and a revolutionary format, encouraging players to express themselves on the court more than they are allowed to on the regular Tour, was a hit with broadcasters and fans worldwide.
The Los Angeles event, which featured champions such as Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas during Covid-19 restrictions, will be played in front of a full crowd for the first time. It will also be the first professional tennis event in Los Angeles since an ATP 250 was held there in 2012.
The eight men will compete in two round-robin groups, with the top two in each going through to the Final 4 played on July 23rd. The winner will win the coveted Zeus trophy.
All roads lead to Grand Final
The other two regular events will be held in Europe (September 15-17) and in Asia/Middle East (December 1-3). The winners of each event will qualify for the season-ending UTS Grand Final, which will be held from December 7-10.
The complete field for Los Angeles will be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Tickets for the Los Angeles event will go on sale on Thursday, May 4, at 10 am, Los Angeles time (6pm UK/5pm CET), via axs.com and uts.live.
