When I first heard that the US Open was dramatically overhauling the Mixed Doubles event by shrinking the draw and moving it to Fan Week, I was skeptical. To me, it sounded like relegation of mixed doubles toward even less attention than it currently attracts. However, now that I have seen the formal announcement of the prospective players, I am firmly on board with the concept. The primary reason is that the entry list is absolutely stacked with the biggest names in the sport.
However, I still harbor some reservations. The use of short sets necessary to cram the event into two days is the opposite of what tennis is supposed to be. Mixed doubles deserves more airtime than a condensed, made-for-television format. It feels like a disservice to reduce those matches to quick sprints to bestow a Grand Slam Championship. As someone who genuinely enjoys doubles strategy and momentum shifts, I am somewhat attached to the traditional format, which is spread out over more days.
That being said, the partnerships will generate a lot of buzz, and I will certainly be watching. Pairings like Raducanu and Alcaraz, Osaka and Kyrgios, and Swiatek and Ruud bring star power in a way mixed doubles rarely sees. This format is a clever way to involve top singles players without compromising their main tournament preparation. I believe this will greatly enhance overall doubles visibility and could be a catalyst for sparking fan interest in doubles and mixed doubles throughout the rest of the tennis calendar.
ESPN holds the broadcast rights. With so much star power in the event, I’m assuming these matches will get significant airtime on one of their major channel feeds. Since the network rarely carries any Grand Slam doubles content, this could be a rare opportunity to give the discipline much broader exposure. If more people tune in, it is concrete evidence that fan interest in doubles has been there all along. That could lead to increased doubles coverage in future events.
One potential downside I see is that some dedicated doubles specialists may be excluded from the field. The top eight teams with the best combined singles ranking as of July 28 will be included in the draw via direct acceptance, and the remaining eight teams will be selected as wildcards at a later date. That means that doubles rankings will likely have little to do with which teams even get to play. Under the traditional format, those players would have had a guaranteed place in the draw. That exclusion should not be overlooked, as it exacerbates the financial stratification between the sport’s top stars and those who are barely scraping by on tour.
That said, it’s impossible to ignore the business angle at play. The USTA has found a way to generate fresh buzz by creating a high-profile showcase event that adds value to Fan Week. It is a strategic move that expands the commercial footprint of the US Open without requiring additional court space during the main draw. While I have my reservations about the format, I also recognize the logic behind it. This is a calculated attempt to make mixed doubles more marketable and media-friendly—and from that standpoint, it’s hard to argue with the likelihood of success.
Fan Week at the US Open just got a lot more interesting. What was once a gimmicky food festival laced lead-in to the main event now features some of the most compelling matchups of the entire tournament. The revamped mixed doubles format may not be perfect, but it’s certainly attention-grabbing—and that alone is a win for tennis. With so many stars taking the court, I’m more than a little tempted to make the trip to New York to see it unfold in person. For the first time in a long time, mixed doubles is stepping into the spotlight, and I expect that a lot of people will want to be there.
a real disservice to doubles specialists who lost Slam opportunity