When the U.S. Tennis Association made a bold announcement earlier this year that it would overhaul mixed doubles at the US Open, there was one objective: Attract star singles players to an event that had lost relevance with fans.
Mission accomplished.
The early entry list for the tournament, released June 17, includes nine of the world’s top-10 players in both the women’s and men’s rankings, forming some blockbuster teams that will undoubtedly draw big crowds to a competition that often gets lost in the shuffle during Grand Slams.
Among them:
Recent French Open winner Carlos Alcaraz paired with 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu
No. 1-ranked Jannik Sinner and Emma Navarro
Last year’s finalist Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina
Australian Open winner Madison Keys with Frances Tiafoe
Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud
Ben Shelton and two-time Grand Slam doubles winner Taylor Townsend
Jessica Pegula and Tommy Paul
Defending US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and Grigor Dimitrov
A Serbian team of Novak Djokovic and Olga Danilovic
An Italian team of Jasmine Paolini and Lorenzo Musetti
A Russian team of Daniil Medvedev and Mirra Andreeva
The Tokyo Olympic champions Alexander Zverev and Belinda Bencic
A boyfriend/girlfriend team of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa
Qinwen Zheng and Jack Draper
Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios
The most notable name missing from the entry list is recent French Open champion and American sensation Coco Gauff, though players will have until July 28 to enter.
When entries close, the top eight teams based on combined singles ranking will get automatic entry into the field, with eight more chosen by wildcard. The tournament will take place during the so-called “Fan Week” on Aug. 19-20, which is the week before the main singles draw begins. It will be played in a short-set format: First to four (winning by two) wins the set, no-ad scoring, tiebreakers at 4-4 and a first-to-10-point tiebreak deciding the match instead of a third set.
All in all, the combination of a quick format, playing mixed doubles during a week when singles players are already on-site practicing for the US Open and a $1 million prize to the winning team has undoubtedly delivered what the USTA hoped for.
‘In our initial discussions about reimagining and elevating the US Open mixed doubles championship, we wanted to find a way to showcase the world’s best men and women competing with and against one another, and we were confident we would be able to get the top players in the game excited about this unique opportunity,’ outgoing USTA executive director Lew Sherr said.
‘Seeing the teams that have already put their names on the entry list makes us all incredibly excited. It shows the players are behind what we are trying to do, and we know that the fans will love it.’
Understandably, the change drew criticism from doubles specialists, most of whom will be frozen out of the event. From the USTA’s point of view, however, this is about growing interest in the sport, and there’s ample evidence from national federation-based events like the United Cup and the Olympics that mixed doubles with star singles players can be a big hit. There was also huge demand at Wimbledon in 2019 to see Serena Williams playing with Andy Murray, so much so that two of their matches got the coveted Center Court treatment.
Because the ATP and WTA Tours overlap at the same venue a mere handful of times per year, mixed doubles is a discipline that only exists on a regular basis at the Grand Slams. And in general, it has been treated as filler programming for the outside courts because fans have shown lukewarm interest in watching it. Now, all the matches will be played on Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong Stadium courts and broadcast on ESPN’s family of networks.
Though the short format suggests that the US Open might look like more of an exhibition type of event than a Grand Slam, it will undoubtedly be a focal point of the first week of the tournament given the intriguing combinations of players who have already signed up.