MALAGA, SPAIN – NOVEMBER 17: Carlos Alcaraz of Spain interacts as Emma Raducanu of Great Britain … More
Carlos Alcaraz calls it “amazing.”
Patrick McEnroe calls it “great for the Open.”
It’s the blockbuster lineup of star-studded teams that have officially entered into the new U.S. Open Mixed Doubles Championship for 2025.
The list includes nine of the world’s Top-10 women and nine of the world’s Top-10 men in a competition that will take place during U.S. Open Fan Week on Tuesday, August 19, and Wednesday, August 20, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, with $1 million in prize money being awarded to the winning team.
The event will take place during the week before the singles draws begin and features this loaded field of teams:
Emma Navarro and Jannik Sinner
Qinwen Zheng and Jack Draper
Jessica Pegula and Tommy Paul
Jasmine Paolini and Lorenzo Musetti
Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz
Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev
Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe
Aryna Sabalenka and Grigor Dimitrov
Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud
Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas
Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz
Belinda Bencic and Alexander Zverev
Olga Danilovic and Novak Djokovic
Taylor Townsend and Ben Shelton
Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori
Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios
Alcaraz, the newly-minted French Open champion and two-time defending Wimbledon champion, said he made a special request to play with Raducanu, the 2021 U.S. Open champion.
“Yeah. I mean, the tournament told us about the tournament, the mixed tournament,” he said after his latest win at Queen’s Club. “I was thinking that I couldn’t play better if it wasn’t with Emma. I just asked Emma if she wants to play doubles with me. Yeah, I made that special request.”
He added of the new mixed doubles event: “US Open came to us and give us opportunities to play mixed doubles. I’m super excited about it. I think it’s going to be great. It was an amazing idea for the tournament. Yeah, I know Emma since a really long time ago, so we know each other. I have really good relationship with her. So it’s just gonna be interesting. You know, obviously both, you know, we are gonna enjoy, for sure. I will try, you know, to put my doubles skill on it. We will try to win. But obviously it’s going to be really, really fun.”
Asked who would be the boss on court in their matches, he said, “She’s gonna be the boss.”
Not everyone is a fan of the new format. Doubles specialists feel it’s a snub.
In February, when the new format was initially announced, Paul McNamee, who won four Grand Slam men’s doubles titles and was ranked No. 1 in the world in doubles, posted on social media:
“Sets to 4 games in a Grand Slam? 16 teams with 8 based on singles rankings and 8 wildcards. I’m sorry, but the US Open now will not produce a bona fide mixed doubles winner. Devalued from a Grand Slam title to an exo. Let’s just say I’m in shock”
He added via social media on Tuesday: “No argument that it’s amazing… but it shouldn’t count as an official title when the best proponents of the skill are not able to play”
At last year’s U.S. Open, Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori of Italy defeated Taylor Townsend and Donald Young of the U.S. in the final, 7–6, 7–5.
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 06: Andy Murray of Great Britain and Serena Williams of The United States … More
But this new format places an emphasis on top singles players pairing up the way Andy Murray and Serena Williams did at Wimbledon in 2019 in order to capitalize on fan interest. By holding the event before the singles draws starts, the Open is essentially adding a third week of competition to an already crowded two-week event.
“[It will draw] huge crowds,” Patrick McEnroe said via text.
Newly-minted Roland Garros champion Coco Gauff is not in the field, but McEnroe said he thinks she may still join before the entry window closes July 28. At that point, the top eight teams with the best combined singles ranking will officially be in the field. The remaining eight teams will be determined via wild card and announced on a date to follow.
“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 that we would be able to get the top players in the game excited about this unique opportunity,” said Lew Sherr, CEO and Executive Director, USTA. “Seeing the teams that have already put their names on the entry list makes us all incredibly excited. It shows that the players are behind what we are trying to do, and we know that the fans will love it.”
