The new-look US Open mixed doubles was a golden chance to showcase tennis to an audience well beyond those who traditionally watch the sport, but those in positions of power have missed a golden chance to make the most of the moment.
When the initial announcement revealing the mixed doubles tournament at this year’s US Open had been transformed into a two-day, quick-fire competition that would feature the biggest names in tennis and would be worth $1m to the champions, it sent shockwaves through the sport.
Doubles players were naturally frustrated that an event they were hoping to compete in would now be closed to them, while others suggested that what looks like a glorified exhibition event should NOT end with the winners being declared as Grand Slam champions.
While the prospect of watching Emma Raducanu teaming up with Carlos Alcaraz and Jack Draper playing alongside Jessica Pegula is a story we all wanted to see, US Open chiefs quickly realised their pre-tournament plan did not fit into a tennis schedule that has no space for new innovations.
More Tennis News
US Open mixed doubles prize money confirmed – are Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz pulling out?
The 5 strongest 2025 US Open mixed doubles pairings – ranked!
Players and viewers are not enjoying the extended ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 tournaments and with organisers desperately trying to string out this year’s Cincinnati Masters, the final few days of the event have featured limited matches and diluted storylines.
Playing the singles finals on a Monday rather than the traditional Sunday finish was unwelcome and it has an especially damaging impact on the new US Open mixed doubles event, with Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek playing important matches in a different state of America less than 24 hours before they play in a ‘Grand Slam’ mixed doubles tournament at the US Open.
If the new mixed doubles at Flushing Meadows was ever going to be treated seriously, the players competing should have been given time to get to New York and practice with their partners before taking to the court in front of the watching world.
The reality is, players will practice with their partners a few hours before they take to the court and there are expected to be late replacements for star players after a raft of withdrawals in recent days.
The top seeds in the event are Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper, but they have never played together before until they take on the Raducanu-Alcaraz dream team.
Meanwhile, newly crowned Cincinnati champion Swiatek will need to be hasty in her preparation with partner Casper Ruud, as she flies in from Cincinnati a few hours before making her debut in the US Open mixed doubles.
Organisers have been denied a chance to build up excitedment around this event with photographs and hype over the last few days and amid it all, those doubles players who have been denied the chance to play in the mixed doubles are wondering why one of their revenue streams has been cut off for an event that appears to be getting throw together amid increasing confusion.
Players have been pulling out and partners have been swapped with more regularity than an episode of Love Island, with tennis chiefs seemingly trying and failing to avoid what may have looked like a credible idea on paper, turning into a pre-US Open joke.
The show will probably be fun to watch when it gets underway, but the confusion in the weeks and especially the final days before this event has cemented the belief that this event should be reclassified as an star-studded exhibition event and not a Grand Slam mixed doubles tournament.
US Open Mixed Doubles draw
Draper & Pegula vs Raducanu & Alcaraz
Djokovic & Danilovic vs Andreeva & Medvedev
Swiatek & Ruud vs Keys & Tiafoe
Osaka & Monfils vs McNally & Musetti
Siniakova & Sinner vs Bencic & Zverev
Townsend & Shelton vs Anisimova & Rune
Williams & Opelka vs Muchova & Rublev
Errani & Vavassori vs Rybakina & Fritz
READ NEXT: Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner make US Open mixed doubles decision as draw is confirmed
The post US Open mixed doubles – how tennis chiefs turned a big opportunity into a farce appeared first on Tennis365.
Leave a Reply