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.
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.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
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hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
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Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
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Tuesday (UAE kick-off times)
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If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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Al Ghaf Honey
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