The races were held from January 15 to February 21, 2021[1] in Auckland, New Zealand and were preceded by the 2019–20 America's Cup World Series.

The second and third-placed team from the round-robin competed in a best-of-seven series to determine who would sail in the final against the UK.

As the higher seed, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli chose to have Starboard gate position as their preferred starting mark.

[19] As the higher seed, Ineos Team UK chose to have Starboard gate position as their preferred starting mark.

Coming into the finals, both teams were undefeated in the immediately proceeding series (the semi-finals for Italy, and the round-robins for the UK).