The Hopman Cup gave tennis fans a rare treat: a national team event where the women’s and men’s singles matches mattered just as much as mixed doubles. For three decades, it opened the tennis year in Perth, pairing stars who might otherwise never share a court.
Named after Australian tennis great Harry Hopman, the tournament built its own place in the sport’s calendar. Its history includes teenage prodigies, Grand Slam champions and some memorable mixed-doubles partnerships—including Roger Federer and Martina Hingis.
How the Hopman Cup began
The first Hopman Cup was held in Perth, Australia, in 1989. It was created as an international team competition for women and men, with each country represented by one female and one male player. The event honored Harry Hopman, the celebrated Australian player and coach who led the country’s Davis Cup team to numerous titles.
From the start, the format set the Cup apart. A tie included a women’s singles match, a men’s singles match and mixed doubles. That final match could decide the result—or turn a close tie into a lively tactical contest. Players had to adjust quickly to a new partner, often against a pair with very different strengths.
Perth became the event’s home, and the tournament was usually played in early January on hard courts. Its timing made it a useful warm-up for the Australian Open, while its team format gave fans a different kind of tennis from the usual individual tour events.
What made the tournament different?
The Hopman Cup was not a standard knockout tournament. In its familiar format, countries sent mixed teams and faced one another in ties made up of three matches. A nation needed to win two matches to take the tie. If the singles matches were split, mixed doubles often became the decider.
That gave the doubles match real strategic weight. A strong singles player could not simply rely on their own result; they had to find a rhythm with their teammate. Teams might use aggressive net play, target the weaker returner or change their positioning to disrupt a well-matched pair. The format also created moments fans rarely saw elsewhere: top singles players working together under the pressure of a team result.
Unlike the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup, which are national team competitions built around same-gender squads, the Hopman Cup’s mixed pairings were central to every tie. That identity helped it stand out for players and spectators alike.
Memorable Hopman Cup moments and champions
The tournament’s winners came from across the tennis world, and its team lists often read like a collection of future and former Grand Slam champions. Switzerland supplied one of its most famous partnerships. In 2001, Martina Hingis teamed up with a 19-year-old Roger Federer. Years later, Federer returned with Belinda Bencic, and the pair won the Cup in both 2018 and 2019.
The back-to-back titles were a fitting highlight for the Perth era. Federer brought his experience and touch, while Bencic proved a formidable singles competitor. Their success also showed why the event’s format worked: a team needed more than a famous name. Both players had to deliver across the tie.
The United States, Spain, Switzerland, Germany and other countries also enjoyed successful runs. Across the decades, the Cup featured leading players such as Steffi Graf, Serena Williams and Goran Ivanišević. For younger players, it could offer an early chance to compete alongside established stars and experience the pressure of a team event.
From Perth to a pause—and a return
The 2019 tournament was the final edition of the long-running Perth event. A changing tennis calendar was part of the story: the ATP Cup launched in 2020, bringing another men’s team competition to the start of the season. The Hopman Cup did not take place in 2020, and its Perth run came to an end.
After a gap, the tournament returned in 2023 in Nice, France. The revival kept the mixed-team idea but introduced a compact six-nation format. Teams played in groups, with the group winners advancing to the final. Croatia won the title, defeating Switzerland in the final after winning both singles matches.
The move from Perth to Nice marked a new chapter rather than a simple restart. The original event had spent decades in one city and become a familiar part of Australia’s tennis summer. The 2023 edition showed that the Hopman Cup concept could travel and still preserve its essential feature: women and men representing their country together.
Why the Hopman Cup still matters
Team events give players a different kind of pressure from the regular tour. They are competing not only for themselves but for a teammate and a national team. That can change how a match feels, especially when a mixed-doubles result is on the line.
The Hopman Cup also gave fans unusual pairings and a chance to see players’ personalities between matches. A singles star might have to adapt to a partner’s style, communicate between points and handle a decisive team match. Those details made the event more than a warm-up tournament, even when it fell just before a Grand Slam.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was the first Hopman Cup?
The first Hopman Cup took place in 1989 in Perth, Australia. It was named after Harry Hopman, the Australian tennis player and coach.
How did the Hopman Cup format work?
Each country fielded one woman and one man. A tie usually included women’s singles, men’s singles and mixed doubles, with the mixed match often deciding the tie if the singles results were split.
Who won the last Hopman Cup in Perth?
Switzerland won the 2019 edition, with Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic representing the country. It was the tournament’s final year in Perth before a break.
Did the Hopman Cup return after 2019?
Yes. The tournament returned in Nice in 2023 with six nations. Croatia won that edition, beating Switzerland in the final.
Final Thoughts
The Hopman Cup’s history is defined by a simple but distinctive idea: bring women and men together to compete for their country. From its 1989 start in Perth to its 2023 return in Nice, the event created memorable partnerships, gave mixed doubles a starring role and offered a different kind of opening to the tennis season. Its strongest legacy is the reminder that tennis can be an individual sport and a team game at the same time.
