The Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) returns for the 2026 season, with Nîmes its second pit stop of the year. A number of big names will be competing in UTS events this year, including Félix Auger-Aliassime, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Casper Ruud.
The Zeus trophy will be on the line in this revolutionary tennis event, featuring unique rules and a fast-paced style of play. The league was founded by Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka’s former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou.
Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 UTS Event in Nîmes
Nîmes, France, will host the second Ultimate Tennis Showdown event of the season. Matches will be held on Friday and Saturday, featuring eight prominent ATP Tour players.
The event features a total prize purse of $1 million, with the winner receiving $301,000. Here is the full schedule for the quarterfinals that will be held on Friday:
- Casper Ruud vs. Karen Khachanov – 1:30 p.m. CEST (7:30 a.m. ET, 12:30 p.m. BST)
- Félix Auger-Aliassime vs. Grigor Dimitrov – 2:30 p.m. CEST (8:30 a.m. ET, 1:30 p.m. BST)
- Alexander Bublik vs. Ugo Humbert – 3:40 p.m. CEST (9:40 a.m. ET, 2:40 p.m. BST)
- Andrey Rublev vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas – 4:40 p.m. CEST (10:40 a.m. ET, 3:40 p.m. BST)
Players who win their quarterfinal matches will compete in the semifinals, and the tournament will conclude with the final. Saturday’s semifinals will begin at 1 p.m. CEST (7 a.m. ET). The final is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. CEST (10:15 a.m. ET).
Unlike other tennis events, the Ultimate Tennis Showdown has unique rules: Each match consists of four quarters of eight minutes each. The player who wins three quarters first wins the match. If no player wins three quarters, a sudden-death round is played, with the player who wins two consecutive points first winning the match.
In all four quarters, players serve two points each. Only one serve per point is allowed, and there are no warm-ups or “lets” allowed. If at the end of a quarter the players are tied on points, a deciding point is played to determine the winner.
Players can also use “bonus cards,” which have special powers and stipulations that apply to the next point, but only for the player who uses the card.
Four UTS events took place in 2025, with Alex de Minaur, Francisco Cerúndolo, Tomáš Macháč, and Ruud the winners. Gaël Monfils, Ben Shelton, and Alexander Zverev have also previously played in UTS events.
Just like last year, the 2026 UTS event in April will be played in Nîmes, where the stunning Arènes de Nîmes adds to the spectacle. Regarded as one of the best-preserved Roman amphitheaters in the world, this arena dates back to 70-100 A.D. and creates a gladiator-like atmosphere during matches.
A temporary court has been installed for the Ultimate Tennis Showdown event, and the venue can accommodate a capacity crowd of up to 13,000 fans.
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The event shared an Instagram reel of Auger-Aliassime with the arena in the backdrop on Thursday.
In addition, the UTS event in Nîmes will feature the Normal Cup, where amateurs take on pros in a sudden-death format, with a $5,000 prize awarded to the winner.
This will be similar to the 1 Point Slam that was held at the Australian Open in January. However, it will be four amateurs who make it through two sets of qualifiers, taking on four professional players.
