The US Open is moving its mixed doubles event to the week before the main tournament. The organizers hope that a fresh format and a $1 million prize will encourage top singles players to compete for a Grand Slam doubles title.
This year’s event will see 16 teams competing over two days in shorter matches. Tournament organizers hope this new approach will attract tennis’ biggest stars, many of whom have previously opted out of the doubles matches to preserve their energy and focus on the singles games.
The executive director and CEO of the US Tennis Association, Lew Sherr, said, “What I would say is the reason behind this is to appeal to more fans and grow the fan base around the world… But the way to do that is to have the biggest names in the sport participating in doubles, and to showcase them teaming up and playing in a different format, we think is exciting. In fact, we know it’s exciting.”
The new format
The mixed doubles event is now scheduled for August 19-20, during the week of the qualifying rounds of the men’s and women’s singles. The central singles draw will start on August 24. The early-round matches will follow a best-of-three set format, with each set played to four games and a deciding point at deuce.
Tie-breakers will occur at 4-4 instead of the usual 6-6 in a standard match. If the teams split sets, a 10-point match tie-breaker will decide the winner instead of a third set.
The final will follow a Grand Slam format, with best-of-three sets to six games, no-ad scoring, tie-breakers at 6-6, and a 10-point match tie-breaker. Eight teams will qualify through their combined singles rankings, and eight more will be given wildcards.
However, there is an issue that the new event may push out doubles athletes who rely on Grand Slam earnings. Sherr said that the prize money for last year’s 32-team mixed doubles tournament at the US Open would now go to the men’s and women’s doubles events.
“Yes, there’s some that will be disappointed that they won’t have the opportunity to compete in this event… On the other side, we know that there’s a huge opportunity to create more interest globally in doubles and there may be a cascading effect here, that the mixed creates a bigger spotlight on the men’s and women’s doubles when we get into that portion of the tournament,” he stated.
“We’ll have to see how that plays out, but we do know that our mixed competition historically has been competing with the men’s and women’s singles, and so the fields have suffered and the attention has suffered. This is a chance to give it a massive spotlight over two nights,” he added.