US Open breathes new life into mixed doubles format with Fan Week revamp

Sometimes, great opportunities are hiding in plain sight. That appears to be the case with mixed doubles, a compelling competition that, through no inherent flaws, has been lost for a long time in the shuffle of Grand Slam competition.

On Tuesday, the USTA announced that the much-discussed and somewhat controversial “reimaging” of the long-overshadowed event is set to go live at the US Open. Granted, it is a glorified exhibition featuring streamlined scoring. But nine of the top 10 ATP and WTA stars have signed up to play. And no wonder: The winning team will share a cool $1 million prize.

"I think that it’s going to be really exciting,” 2024 US Open singles finalist Taylor Fritz said, after he and former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybankina won the successful pilot version of the event at the BNP Paribas Open last spring. “I think a lot of people are going to be excited about it, and I genuinely love playing mixed doubles, so I think there’s a good chance I’ll play it [in New York].”

The critical detail here—the reason Fritz and others are eager to play—is that the competition in New York also will be held on the eve of the main tournament (over two days during the US Open’s Fan Week). That cleared the major obstacle for top players, who couldn’t otherwise clear time to play mixed doubles. But the streamlined, short-set, no-ad scoring format, hefty prize money, and information-gathering potential of this approach proved appealing.

Lest we forget, there is also the vibe factor. Players enjoy hamming it up when major nothing is at stake rankings-wise. Pre-event exhibitions also offer a novel break from—and complement to—repetitive practice.

Initially, the large cadre doubles specialists and tennis purists decried the tradition-busting, star-courting elements of the plan, but the increasing irrelevance of the mixed game as well as the escalating hunt for revenue (to which standard mixed doubles added little) in an evolving tennis landscape proved overpowering. The concession to those doubles-only players is an entry system for the 16-team field that, while based on combined singles ranking for half the draw, reserves the other eight slots for wild-card entries.

I think a lot of people are going to be excited about it, and I genuinely love playing mixed doubles. Taylor Fritz

This is not a perfect system, and the entire approach will make traditionalists blanche. But as the USTA’s press release put it, “The goal [is] driving greater awareness for this storied competition, giving fans both in attendance and across the globe the opportunity to see tennis’ biggest stars—both men and women—compete side-by-side for a US Open Grand Slam title.”

We might have seen this, or something very much like it, coming. The public has shown a strong appetite for mixed (men and women) events, yet the most literal and dynamic expression of that is to actually see them competing on a level playing field against each other. That’s why many aficionados and students of the game have found mixed doubles fascinating.

In the best-case scenario, the pros will compete hard and the scoring system will enable them to do so without wasting energy best reserved for the deadly serious events. The scheduling also will make it viable to play with intent. The competition will take place on Tuesday, August 19 and the evening of Wednesday August 20th, either in Arthur Ashe or Louis Armstrong stadium. Tickets will be required, and the matches will be broadcast across all ESPN platforms.

The final will be a best-of-three set match to six games with no-ad scoring and tiebreakers, with a 10-point tiebreaker in lieu of a third set. There’s no doubt that some traditionalists will mourn the demise of the familiar mixed doubles event. But when it comes to mixed doubles competition at the majors, and the nature of the contemporary game it’s handy to keep in mind that old adage: the perfect is the enemy of the good.