Will the US Open's latest schedule change hurt mixed doubles, or save it? Players are divided

The US Open could be gearing up to make a major overhaul of its tournament schedule for men’s, women’s and mixed doubles, and not everyone is a fan of the changes.

First reported by tennis insider Parsa Nemati, the USTA could be set to push back the start of the US Open men’s and women’s doubles tournament by two days, moving from Wednesday to Friday of the first main draw week.

But the part that raised the most eyebrows was the proposed changes to mixed doubles. Nemati reported that the event will now consist of a 16-team draw—down from the previous years’ 32—featuring eight teams “based on singles entry” and eight wild card teams.

Controversially, the mixed doubles event will also be played during qualifying week, reportedly with a Tuesday start, which moves it entirely out of the Grand Slam’s main draw window.

Read More: Andrea Vavassori, Sara Errani win "dream" mixed doubles title, ending Donald Young, Taylor Townsend's emotional US Open run

“Another example why there is a need for (the PTPA),” wrote coach Sven Groeneveld, as he tagged the sport’s unofficial players’ union on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Last year, the US Open’s mixed doubles event began on Wednesday during the first week of the tournament and concluded on Thursday of the second week, with the final taking place on Arthur Ashe Stadium ahead of the women’s singles semifinals. In previous years, the event’s final was held on the last Saturday of the tournament, on the same day as the women's final.

The new scheduling could see the US Open’s mixed doubles tournament become a shortened event that would take place during Fan Week, which already features a packed slate of family-friendly programming in addition to qualies and the top singles players training before the main event kicks off. While Fan Week entry is usually free of charge, Jimmy Arias reported on Tennis Channel Live that the USTA intends to sell tickets for mixed doubles this year.

"Fewer matches to get lost in the singles blur of midweek first week. More content for Labor Day (weekend) crowds," wrote coach Marc Lucero, who said he's a 'huge fan of this change.'

Doing that just to sell more money during first week of the event. Making it look like an exhibition for whoever wants to play! Kristina Mladvenovic, former doubles world No. 1

It’s a move that seems to be designed to entice singles players into participating—potentially drawing in a few big names that can pull a crowd. But it's left some doubles players saying it will make their competition feel more like an exhibition event than a prestigious Grand Slam.

“Terribly shocking news!,” wrote former doubles world No. 1 Kristina Mladenovic, adding a series of ‘thumbs down’ emojis. The Frenchwoman has won six Grand Slam titles in women’s doubles and three in mixed.

“Doing that just to sell more money during (the) first week of the event. Making it look like an exhibition for whoever wants to play!”

Read More: US Open adds a 15th day, moves to Sunday start in 2025

While that sentiment was also echoed by fans on social media, the USTA's move could mark the start of a radical shift in Grand Slam scheduling if it comes to fruition—and it’s clear that doubles needs a lot of that. In 2024, Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley rang the alarm bells when he spoke on the need to ‘make some decisions’ as tennis insiders questioned the future of doubles as a professional discipline.

“I think we may have lost our way a little bit, we’re not meaning enough,” Tiley told The Guardian. “We’ve got to get things right, and we can’t keep spinning our wheels on things, and make some decisions.”

His comments prompted Jamie Murray, a former doubles world No. 1 with two Grand Slams titles in men’s doubles and five in mixed, to call for a total calendar overhaul to address the scheduling issues that give doubles ‘no chance to thrive”.

Scheduling bothers me so much at some of the events. It’s giving it no chance to thrive. Right now, it feels to me that it’s kind of set up for failure. Jamie Murray, former doubles world No. 1

“It just feels like it’s slowly going downhill and eventually, people are just like ‘It sucks, we don’t need it. It just doesn’t do anything for us.’ Whereas, actually, with a bit of care and attention, you could elevate it and bring more value to the Tour,” Murray told Tennis Majors last year.

“Scheduling bothers me so much at some of the events. It’s giving it no chance to thrive. Right now, it feels to me that it’s kind of set up for failure.”

Could the US Open's new mixed doubles experiment be what tennis needs to revamp the struggling format, and could other Grand Slams follow suit? Big scheduling changes are clearly on the table: The US Open recently announced its move to a 15-day event—following Roland Garros' example after the Australian Open did the same in 2024—and Wimbledon allowed play on Middle Sunday for the first time in its history back in 2022.

There’s been no confirmation yet from the USTA on when or if the rumored changes will go into effect. But once they do, we can imagine that other Grand Slam tournament directors and organizers will be following the experiment closely.