US Open teases mixed doubles dream teams

Imagine Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu competing together for a Grand Slam trophy. How about Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe as a duo? Iga Swiatek alongside Casper Ruud? Or Naomi Osaka with Nick Kyrgios?

Those are among the high-wattage pairs on Tuesday's preliminary entry list for the reimagined US Open mixed doubles tournament on Aug 19-20, before singles competition begins Aug 24.

Ten of the top 11 women in the WTA singles rankings — Coco Gauff, who just won the French Open for her second Grand Slam title, is the only one missing — and 10 of the top 11 men on the ATP tour, including No 1 Jannik Sinner and 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic, have registered to compete for the $1 million top prize that will be split by the winners, an $800,000 increase over last year.

"Look at the field we have," said Stacey Allaster, who's in her final year as US Open tournament director. "It is going to be fantastic for the fans."

Other potential pairs on Tuesday's list: Sinner and Emma Navarro; Djokovic and Olga Danilovic; Zheng Qinwen and Jack Draper; Jasmine Paolini and Lorenzo Musetti; Jessica Pegula and Tommy Paul; Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev; Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz; Aryna Sabalenka and Grigor Dimitrov; Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas; Belinda Bencic and Alexander Zverev; Taylor Townsend and Ben Shelton; and 2024 US Open mixed doubles champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori.

It's a star-studded group that is a far cry from the mix of doubles specialists usually found in a Grand Slam competition.

Some criticized the changes when they were announced in February, with Errani and Vavassori calling the new format a "pseudo-exhibition, focused only on entertainment" that would shut out doubles players.

This time, there are 10 major singles champions hoping to play, with Djokovic, Osaka, Alcaraz, Raducanu, Sinner, Sabalenka, Swiatek and Medvedev all past winners at Flushing Meadows.

Pegula and Fritz were last year's singles runners-up in New York, while Ruud, Zverev and 2025 Australian Open champion Keys have also been finalists at the US Open.

"There is nothing I've been more excited about, energized about, than this event and what it will represent for the sport going forward: an opportunity to innovate and present the sport differently," said Lew Sherr, who recently announced he'll be stepping down as chief executive of the US Tennis Association to become president of business operations with the New York Mets MLB franchise.

"It's the only sport of any significance (with) men and women on the same field of play, at the same time, competing all out against one another."

The mixed doubles event is shrinking from 32 pairs to 16, and there is a shortened format — first- to-four-games sets until the final; no-advantage scoring and match tiebreakers instead of a third set.

Players still have time to sign up before the July 28 cutoff, and there is no guarantee that the 16 teams announced Tuesday will actually be in the draw in New York. The top eight teams, based on their combined singles ranking, will automatically get into the field; the other eight pairings will receive wildcards determined by a USTA committee.

"Once there was an understanding of what the event was, (players) went and ran with it," said Eric Butorac, USTA senior director of player relations and business development. "They found their own partners — whether it was a friendship, a countryman or some even teaming up with a partner that they have off the court."

Agencies via Xinhua