The coveted Garden Cup is back. In just a few hours, tennis fans will witness the exhibition event’s return at the Madison Square Garden today. Not to mention that it’s going to be an extravagant affair and why not. The four of the top players in the world, Carlos Alcaraz, Ben Shelton, Jessica Pegula, and Emma Navarro are set to compete and entertain the crowd. Ahead of that, if you are wondering what will be the event’s format this year, we have got you covered.

Today’s event will mark the first edition of the Garden Cup after 2018. Speaking of the match structures, the one-night event will see two singles matches taking place. Starting at 7 PM EST, Jessica Pegula will go against compatriot Emma Navarro. On the other hand, Carlos Alcaraz will play against Ben Shelton at 9 PM EST. In the past, the event also featured men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles matches. However, today’s encounters will only feature the players participating in singles matches.

First speaking of the men’s battle, Alcaraz seems to have an edge over Shelton. The two have met each other twice and the Spaniard is leading the tally 2-0. Carlos had a great run in 2024, winning back-to-back Grand Slams at the Roland Garros in June and the Wimbledon in July. Although he lost his No.1 ranking to Jannik Sinner, he’s still one of the top three. On the other hand, Ben Shelton has impressed this year with his consistency.

He shined at the Houston Open and reached the semifinals of the ASB Classic, the Dallas Open, and the Citi Open. Not to mention his phenomenal run at the Swiss Indoors in October, where he reached the title clash. Currently, he’s ranked World No.21.

Coming to the women’s battle, Jessica Pegula looks the favorite against Emma Navarro. The two have met only once, and Pegula is leading the tally 1-0 right now. Pegula had a decent run this season as she reached the SF round of the San Diego Open, and Charleston Open. She also reached the title encounters of the Cincinnati Masters and the US Open and is currently ranked No.7.

Her competitor, Navarro, had a decent run in 2024 as well, as she made it to the SF rounds at the San Diego Open, Bad Homburg Open, Canadian Open, and also the US Open. Her only title win came at the WTA 125K in Paris in May. As of now, she’s ranked World No.8. Meanwhile, the excitement among the participants for the Garden Cup is extremely high!

Carlos Alcaraz, Ben Shelton, and Jessica Pegula share their happiness about playing in the Garden Cup

Ahead of the exhibition match on Wednesday, Alcaraz shared his excitement through an Instagram story, dated December 3. “Hello everyone, I’m here in New York City for the Garden Cup. I’m super excited to play at Madison Square Garden, so see you all there,” he wrote. But he’s not the only one who’s looking forward to play in front of a packed crowd today.

Even Carlos’ rival, Shelton, is excited for the match day. “What’s up, guys? This is Ben. I just wanna let you know that I’m playing the Garden Cup tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden. Go check out Tennis Night Out if you want updates on the matches and what time it’s gonna start. See you!” he wrote in an Instagram story dated December 3.

WTA star Jessica Pegula has also expressed her eagerness for the match at Madison Square. “As a New York tennis player, you dream of playing in the US Open final and at Madison Square Garden. To be able to do both in one year shows that dreams can come true. I’m really looking forward to coming back to New York and playing Emma in front of the best fans in the world,” she said.

It seems like the Garden Cup has amassed a pretty good amount of hype already. It will be intriguing to see who emerges as the ultimate winner tonight in both encounters. Who will you cheer for? Let us know in the comments below.