The US Open’s revamped mixed doubles competition will take place over two days the week before the singles competition gets underway. The draw size has been cut from 32 to 16 teams and doubles rankings are no longer used for entry.
Until the final, a fast-4 scoring format will also be used, and all decisive third sets will be a first-to-10-point tiebreak. The prize money will also be boosted from £158k ($200k) to £792k ($1m)
Doubles players have already condemned the new format and are hoping it won’t be replicated at the other Grand Slam tournaments.
The Australian Open has now answered their wishes, as organisers Tennis Australia confirmed they had no plans to follow suit.
“Mixed doubles is a fantastic showcase for tennis, and one of the only opportunities in world sport where men and women can compete alongside and against each other,” the body said in a statement.
“Our whole summer of tennis – culminating with the Australian Open – is about creating more job opportunities for the players, providing more competition on the biggest stage and more prize money.
“We are always exploring new ways to elevate the sport, and while promoting men’s, women’s and mixed doubles is a key priority for AO 26, we have no plans to change the current format of the mixed doubles championship at the AO.”
It comes after Errani and Vavassori, the reigning mixed doubles champions at the US Open, slammed bosses for changing the tournament.
Both are top 10 doubles players but sit outside of the top 100 in singles, meaning they can’t get into the draw to defend their title without a wildcard.
“In the last few weeks we received the news that the US Open mixed doubles tournament will be completely turned upside down, cancelled and replaced with a pseudo-exhibition focused only on entertainment and show,” the Italians wrote in a joint statement.
“A decision made without consulting anyone, which we can do nothing but accept it. We see it as a profound injustice, that disrespects an entire category of players. [Putting] money above tennis is never a good idea.
“We don’t know at the moment if we’ll have the chance to defend our title, but we hope this remains an isolated case and this type of policy will not be considered again in the future. We strongly felt the need to share our thoughts.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk