UTS Grand Final in London
Young guns Rune and Draper to clash as groups announced for
UTS Grand Final in London
Great Britain’s Jack Draper will make his UTS debut with a mouth-watering clash against Holger Rune on Friday 15th December.
The UTS Grand Final London is now just a fortnight away. The thrilling tennis and entertainment showcase takes place at the ExCel from 15 - 17 December.
Both players are huge hitters of the ball, with Rune having recently made the Nitto ATP Finals where he pushed finalists Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner to deciding sets, while Draper, home favourite, comes in off the back of a final run in the Sofia tournament.
Draper, aged 21, is making his UTS debut in London, with Rune returning to the Tour for the first time since 2020, when he started his pro career as a 17-year-old with a one-match appearance.
The tournament will see the best eight players from the year competing in two groups of four, with the top two from each group moving on to the Final Four stage at the ExCel centre.
The groups for UTS London are as follows:
GROUP A
Andrey “Rublo” Rublev
Casper “The Iceman” Ruud
Diego “El Peque” Schwartzman
Benoit “The Rebel” Paire
GROUP B
Holger “The Viking” Rune
Jack “The Power” Draper
Alexander “The Bublik Enemy” Bublik
Gael “La Monf” Monfils
Rublev will enter Group A as the man to beat, having won the most recent UTS event in Frankfurt. Schwartzman will fancy his chances, however, having defeated Rublev 3-1 to hand the Russian his only defeat of the tournament, while Paire will try to take his revenge after his tough loss in the semi-final (3-0) in Germany.
All eyes will also be on a juicy rematch between Paire and Schwartzman as well in group play, as the pair met earlier this year at UTS Los Angeles, where Schwartzman won 3-2, with the match going to sudden death.
Another rematch will be on the cards in Group B too, with Bublik and Monfils rekindling their rivalry from UTS Los Angeles, where Monfils clean swept Bublik 3-0.
Here is the order of play for the event, occurring from 15th to 17th December:
DAY ONE - FRIDAY 15th
4pm - Schwartzman v Paire (Group A)
5pm - Rublev v Ruud (Group A)
6pm - Bublik v Monfils (Group B)
1h Break
8pm - Rublev v Schwartzman (Group A)
9pm - Rune v Draper (Group B)
10pm - Ruud v Paire (Group A)
DAY TWO - SATURDAY 16th
4pm - Rune v Bublik (Group B)
5pm - Draper v Monfils (Group B)
6pm - Ruud v Schwartzman (Group A)
1h Break
8pm - Rublev v Paire (Group A)
9pm - Rune v Monfils (Group B)
10pm - Draper v Bublik (Group B)
DAY THREE - SUNDAY 17th
4pm - Semi-Final 1
5pm - Semi-Final 2
6:30pm - Final
Fans with tickets for Friday or Saturday are guaranteed to see all players in action.
For more information and to book tickets, click here.
What is UTS?
In short, Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) is the world’s newest, most exciting, innovative tennis league, playing an entirely reinvented game format. The year-round league was founded by Patrick Mouratoglou, who previously coached WTA legend Serena Williams and is now the coach of 2-time grand slam champion Simona Halep and young Danish star Holger Rune.
In addition, Patrick also mentors several promising players, including Stefanos Tsitsipas, Coco Gauff, and Alexei Popyrin. UTS introduces a modern format consisting of 40-minute intense matches, a lightened code of conduct, and unique novelties.
For instance, UTS cards strongly emphasize strategy and add to the suspense. Live coaching and mid-match interviews allow fans to get inside the player’s minds and immerse into their universe. UTS organised its first events proof of concept following the Covid-19 lockdown.
World-famous players that have already participated include Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matteo Berrettini, Alexander Zverev, and many more. In 2023, UTS returns with four events worldwide.
