Coco Gauff, along with her partner, Christian Harrison, took the United States to the United Cup mixed doubles semifinals after beating Greece’s Maria Sakkari and Stefanos Tsitsipas following an intense tie-breaker. But during the quarterfinal game, Gauff was impressed by a new timeout rule. 

According to the new rule, each team can call for a one-minute timeout during the match. And this timeout doesn’t necessitate the team to be on the serving side. All the players need to do is press a large red buzzer in their respective team zone. 

Reflecting on the new rule, Coco Gauff said, “I mean, me personally, I think it’s cool.”

“I liked it. Last year I think you could only use it on your serve, right? So I like that you can do it on anyone.”

Once the buzzer is pressed, the team can gather in their respective team zones for a brief conference. And the game resumes with a 25-second shot clock. These timeouts can offer the teams novel strategies and a chance to regroup and turn the match in their favor. The two-time Grand Slam champion was specifically impressed by Greece’s timeout choice. 

“Greece’s timing was interesting, but it worked,” she said regarding the rule change. “I think it’s a cool feature. I would hope to see it in more United Cups.”

But this isn’t the only change the United Cup introduced in 2026. And they did impress Gauff. 

Coco Gauff: Think of the Other Innovations at the 2026 United Cup

Apart from the expanded mixed doubles timeout, the United Cup introduced LED-integrated net posts that react to play. This enhances the clarity for fans, without the need to solely rely on replays. 

Talking about the lights, Gauff said, "Christian and I were watching Taylor's match with no volume, so it was kind of nice to see when it was out when we couldn't hear. If it doesn't bother the players, I wouldn't mind it continuing."

But the highlight was the return of Bolt 6, a cloud-based optical tracking system that can deliver electronic line calling through 12 cameras surrounding the court.

This innovation promises to deliver live augmented reality for broadcasters, skeletal tracking for better analysis, and coaches' box analytics featuring real-time, data-rich dashboards. 

Stephen Farrow, the Director of the United Cup Tournament, said, “Innovation is at the core of everything we do at the United Cup, and this is another example of leading the way and finding new ways to present the sport and engage our fans.”

But what do you think of these innovations? 

Written by

Krushna Pattnaik

Edited by

Oajaswini Prabhu