US Open: Overhaul of mixed doubles lures top stars and critics too

Revamped tournament sees likes of Raducanu and Alcaraz team up, with semi-finals and final given primetime slots on ESPN

Emma Raducanu, left, and Carlos Alcaraz are one of 16 teams taking part in the revamped mixed doubles at the 2025 US Open.

The revamped US Open mixed doubles tournament kicks off on Tuesday and will feature a marquee lineup that includes Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek, Carlos Alcaraz, Venus Williams and Novak Djokovic.

Significant changes have been made to mixed doubles at this year’s US Open, to attract the world's top singles players, which in turn should elevate the event overall.

Player field

There are 16 teams taking part in the tournament – eight of which gained direct entry based on their singles rankings and another eight who have accepted wildcards.

Direct entrants

Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper

Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud

Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz

Amanda Anisimova and Holger Rune

Belinda Bencic and Alexander Zverev

Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev

Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe

Karolina Muchova and Andrey Rublev

Wildcards

Olga Danilovic and Novak Djokovic

Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz

Katerina Siniakova and Jannik Sinner

Taylor Townsend and Ben Shelton

Venus Williams and Reilly Opelka

Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori

Naomi Osaka and Gael Monfils

Lorenzo Musetti and Caty McNally

Changes

This complete overhaul of mixed doubles at Flushing Meadows includes changes to the timing of the event, draw size, tournament format, and player compensation.

Traditionally played over six rounds during the second week of the US Open, mixed doubles will now take place during the ongoing qualifying week, which the tournament calls Fan Week.

Just 16 teams will participate, as opposed to the traditional 32, and the action will be spread over four rounds, scheduled across two days, Tuesday, August 19 (starting 11am local time) and Wednesday, August 20 (starting 7pm local time).

Format

Through the semi-finals, matches will be best-of-three sets with short sets to four games, no-ad scoring, tiebreaks at four-all and a 10-point match tiebreak in lieu of a third set.

The final will be a best-of-three set match to six games, featuring no-ad scoring, with tiebreaks at six-all and a 10-point match tiebreak in lieu of a third set.

Prize money

Players will compete for a total prize purse of $2,360,000, with the winning team earning a champion’s cheque of $1 million. That is five times what Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori pocketed for winning the US Open mixed doubles title last year.

Winner: $1 million

Runner-up: $400,000

Semi-finalists $200,000

Quarter-finalists: $100,000

Round of 16: $20,000

Total: $2.36 million

Vision

The idea for this revamped US Open mixed doubles format was first floated by former US Tennis Association (USTA) CEO Lew Sherr back in 2021.

He watched some of the mixed doubles action during the second week of the US Open and wondered why none of the top players were taking part.

The idea of having some of the game’s biggest stars, from both tours, competing alongside one another seemed like a no-brainer, but the timing of the mixed doubles tournament made it practically impossible for singles players to participate.

Sherr left the USTA to join the New York Mets at the end of June, but it was his vision that laid the groundwork for this radical overhaul of the competition.

“We want to really elevate this important mixed doubles championship,” US Open tournament director Stacey Allaster said on Andy Roddick’s Served podcast earlier this year.

“[The idea] really came into focus in ‘22 as we were celebrating 50 years of equal prize money. How do we continue as a sport to be a beacon for equality?

“We're the only, really, professional sport that has the opportunity for the top players to play on the same stage, competing for equal prize money. And we know when we see top players playing mixed, fans are excited.

We're the only, really, professional sport that has the opportunity for the top players to play on the same stage, competing for equal prize money. And we know when we see top players playing mixed, fans are excited

Stacey Allaster,
US Open tournament director

“So we're really trying to elevate mixed doubles, trying to elevate the message that it sends around equality. And ultimately at the end of the day, we know American fans and players all over the world, they play doubles and hopefully we inspire more people to want to play the sport.”

Last year, an exhibition event dubbed "Mixed Madness", featuring four mixed doubles teams, was introduced to US Open Fan Week and was used as a proof of concept to test out the format.

That event checked all the boxes, from fan attendance to broadcast interest, and it made way for the official rollout of the new mixed doubles tournament this year.

ESPN will be airing the semi-finals and finals in the primetime slot on Wednesday and Arthur Ashe Stadium is expected to sell out.

The move also bolsters the US Open’s vision to be seen as a three-week event, and not as a fortnight of tennis preceded by a week of qualifying.

Emma Navarro was initially meant to compete in mixed doubles alongside Jannik Sinner but opted to play a tournament in Monterrey instead. Reuters

Challenges

The most obvious challenge for this new format is scheduling and locking down the player field.

All four finalists in Cincinnati – Sinner, Alcaraz, Swiatek and Jasmine Paolini – were signed up to compete in US Open mixed doubles.

Paolini made the decision to pull out after she won her semi-final on Sunday (she’s been replaced by McNally), while the other three still intend to play the finals in Cincinnati on Monday and head straight to New York for mixed doubles action the following morning.

Emma Navarro was initially meant to compete in mixed alongside Sinner but opted to play a tournament in Monterrey instead. As a result, Sinner has re-paired with Katerina Siniakova.

While most top players spend the week before the US Open training in New York and fulfilling their sponsorship commitments, some, like Navarro, are in search of more singles match play to find their form ahead of the final Grand Slam of the season.

The final player field was announced late on Sunday, less than 48 hours ahead of the start of the mixed doubles competition. With Cincinnati having a Monday final, it wouldn’t be surprising if we see more withdrawals before the first mixed doubles ball is hit at Flushing Meadows.

Criticism

There are obvious reasons why the new mixed doubles format is a good idea.

Mixed events have become increasingly popular across all sports and we can see how they’re being added to the programme of multiple disciplines at each of the last few Olympics. Tennis already had mixed doubles but it wasn’t attracting enough attention and did not feature its top stars. This new format addresses those issues.

But while many can understand the USTA’s decision to revamp the mixed, doubles specialists have been vocal critics of the move.

When the announcement was made last February, Vavassori and Errani released a statement that described the changes as “a profound injustice that disrespects an entire category of players”. While Vavassori and Errani have received a wildcard for this year’s mixed doubles event, as the defending champions, many doubles specialists are missing out.

Hsieh Su-Wei, a two-time mixed doubles and seven-time women’s doubles Grand Slam champion, posted a photo from New York on her Instagram, describing the new mixed doubles tournament as an “exhibition” rather than a real, sanctioned event.

The USTA has defended its decision by announcing a significant increase in player compensation that would offset the loss in earning opportunity for doubles players in mixed doubles.

Total prize money for men’s and women’s doubles has gone up by 23 per cent, from $3.89 million in 2024 to $4.78 million this year, with the champion teams earning $1 million each.