'THANKS FOR TAKING AWAY THE OPPORTUNITY': STAR-STUDDED MIXED DOUBLES LINEUP MET WITH FURY
- Christian Montegan
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka, and Nick Kyrgios are just some of the high-profile names ready to feature in a revamped mixed doubles tournament at the 2025 US Open, but not everyone is on board.
On Tuesday, the New York Slam unveiled a mouthwatering entry list, predominantly made up of top singles players, with partnerships including Alcaraz/Emma Raducanu, Kyrgios/Naomi Osaka, and Jannik Sinner/Emma Navarro.
Tournament organisers are hoping the new concept will attract more fans, with the event scheduled to fall during singles qualifying in the first week. Usually, the mixed doubles feature during the same time as the singles and doubles main draws.
And there's a lucrative prize pool for the champions, with the winners set to pocket A$1.54 million.
A total of 16 pairings will compete in a 'Fast 4' format, as the top-eight seeds are determined by singles rankings.
Best-of-three-set matches with short sets to four games, no-ad scoring, tiebreakers 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 tiebreakers at six-all and a 10-point match tiebreaker in lieu of a third set.
"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," USTA CEO and executive director Lew Sherr explained.
"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."
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But extensive enthusiasm from the USTA and tennis fans wasn't met with the same positivity as doubles world No.41 Jan Zieliński, calling out the US Open for excluding natural doubles players.
"I guess winning two Grand Slams in mixed doubles in one year is not enough to get an invitation to US Open 'exhibition' event," he wrote.
"Thanks for taking away the opportunity to compete and making it fair for everyone."
When the decision to change the mixed doubles format was announced in February, Zieliński also refused to stay silent.
"No communication with the players, no thought behind what it means to some people's careers, no respect to the history and traditions. Sad to see," he posted on X.
Australian Ellen Perez, current doubles world No.16, also shared her disapproval when the news of a format change broke.
"Tell us that you think doubles players are trash, that tradition is overrated and job opportunity is a thing of the past without actually saying it," she said.
After learning about the big name players set to take part in the event, former Aussie doubles No.1 Paul McNamee warned that the US Open shouldn't "diminish the integrity of a Grand Slam by awarding an official title".
When a fan on X asked why should doubles specialists lose a chance to win a Grand Slam because of "greed", the comment was met with the following response:
"Tournaments of this calibre are not charities, they are businesses. Had those 'doubles specialists' contributed to generating tournament revenues in a meaningful way, that would've been another story. Nobody is entitled to receiving prize money just because."
The competition will commence during US Open fan week on August 19-20.
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