Perth, Australia ¨C Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka got her 2026 season off to a winning start for Japan in the United Cup, after Great Britain¡¯s Emma Raducanu pulled out of their singles clash with a fitness issue.

But despite Osaka¡¯s win, GB took the match 2-1 with a deciding mixed doubles victory.

Osaka was too strong for GB reserve and 276th-ranked Katie Swan, winning 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 as Raducanu watched from the sidelines.

¡°I¡¯m proud of how I fought,¡± Osaka said. ¡°I¡¯d never played here, it was tough.¡±

GB captain Tim Henman said Raducanu, the 2021 U.S. Open champion, could appear later in the event.

¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯s necessarily out of this tournament just yet. So we¡¯re keeping our fingers crossed,¡± said Henman.

Billy Harris, standing in for the injured Jack Draper, began with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 defeat of Shintaro Mochizuki.

¡°It¡¯s great to get the first win, even if there were some shaky bits. I closed it out well at the end,¡± said Harris.

Great Britain sealed the match when Neal Skupski and Olivia Nicholls defeated Yasutaka Uchiyama and Nao Hibino 7-5, 4-6, 10-7.

In Sydney, Alexander Zverev clinched victory for Germany against The Netherlands as the world number three demolished Tallon Griekspoor 7-5, 6-0.

Eva Lys beat Suzan Lamens 6-2, 6-2 and Germany also took the doubles for a 3-0 sweep.

Playing his first match of 2026, Zverev dropped just seven points in a commanding second set.

¡°The first set, it was tough to get rhythm,¡°said Zverev. ¡°Once I got the chances, I did well and I¡¯m very happy with the win.¡±

The 18-nation mixed-team event in Perth and Sydney is a warm-up for the Australian Open which begins on January 18.