The US Open has unveiled an updated version of the entry list for its new mixed doubles competition. The revamped tournament will be staged in the week before the rest of the main draws and some blockbuster partnerships, including Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz, have already signed up.
There are only 16 places available, and 25 teams have now expressed their interest. But some have pulled out, with Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa’s names no longer on the list after a reported break-up, and Jack Draper also absent.
Tsitsipas and Badosa, nicknamed ‘Tsitsidosa’, reportedly ended their two-year relationship. During Wimbledon, eagle-eyed fans noticed they had stopped following one another on Instagram. Spanish star Badosa is also struggling with an ongoing injury.
Draper, meanwhile, was set to team up with Olympic gold medallist Qinwen Zheng. But Zheng has now undergone elbow surgery and will be out for the next few weeks, so they have withdrawn.
The British No. 1 is also carrying an injury of his own and has pulled out of the Masters 1000s events in Canada and Cincinnati.
But there are plenty of exciting new names vying for a place in the tournament. Only 16 teams get to compete across the two-day format. Eight are determined by their best combined singles ranking on July 28, and the other eight will be wildcards.
When an initial entry list was shared last month, it also included Emma Navarro and Jannik Sinner, Jessica Pegula and Tommy Paul, Jasmine Paolini and Lorenzo Musetti, Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz, Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev, Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe, Aryna Sabalenka and Grigor Dimitrov, Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud, Belinda Bencic and Alexander Zverev, Olga Danilovic and Novak Djokovic, Taylor Townsend and Ben Shelton, Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, and Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios.
Teams have until Monday to sign up, and plenty of new names have thrown their hat in the ring. New entries include Amanda Anisimova and Holger Rune, Karolina Muchova and Andrey Rublev, Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur, Donna Vekic and Hubert Hurkacz, and Iva Jovic and Jenson Brooksby.
Gaby Dabrowski and Felix Auger-Aliassime, the Olympic bronze medallists in mixed doubles, have also entered. Venus Williams looks set to continue her comeback at the US Open as she has signed up with Reilly Opelka.
Although the mixed doubles draw is based on singles rankings, doubles players including Demi Schuurs and Tallon Griekspoor; Katerina Siniakova and Marcelo Arevalo; Desirae Krawczyk and Evan King; and Su-Wei Hsieh and Jan Zielinski have put their names down.
It could get very competitive to get a spot in the 16-team draw. As it stands, blockbuster pairings like Raducanu and Alcaraz, Osaka and Kyrgios, and Danilovic and Djokovic don’t have a high enough combined singles ranking to get in directly and will need wildcards. And there could be backlash from the doubles players if none of them are granted a place.
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