Mixed doubles has long been seen as an afterthought in grand slam tennis, a lowly-paid hangover from the sport’s origins as a social game.
The US Open are promising to change that, and Australians could reap the dividends – but might be frozen out.
This year’s mixed doubles at the US Open will be played before the singles main draw with prize money for the winners quintupled.
The mixed doubles competition will be staged from August 19-20, a few days before the singles matches start, and feature a $1 million ($A1.6m) winners’ prize – up from the $200,000 ($A320,000) pocketed by Italian duo Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori last year.
That will be of great interest to Aussie John Peers, who won the US Open with compatriot Storm Hunter (then known as Storm Sanders) in 2022.
Peers is also the newest grand slam mixed doubles champion in another all-Australian pairing having lifted the Australian Open title in Melbourne with Olivia Gadecki.
Whether that success earns Peers and his partner entry in New York is unclear.
The competition’s format has been overhauled with 16 pairs participating – half the 32 that competed last year.
Eight will earn direct entry via their combined singles ranking. The other eight will be wild-card entries. With the match format shortened it would seem the intent is to draw in high-ranking singles players who currently eschew doubles to concentrate on their singles campaigns.
The dates could also clash with singles qualifying which might affect the likes of Gadecki and Hunter.
“We’ll be scheduling mixed doubles on the centre stage and enabling more fans worldwide to enjoy the thrill of watching their favourite stars compete for this coveted grand slam championship title,” USTA chief Lew Sherr said.
“By giving the competition its own spotlight, we’re elevating mixed doubles to put an even greater focus on the incredible talent we have across the sport.”
Early matches will be best-of-three sets played to four games, with a tiebreak at 4-4 and a 10-point match tiebreak instead of a third set, while the final will be a best-of-three set match to six games.
All matches will be played in Arthur Ashe Stadium or Louis Armstrong Stadium – the main show courts at Flushing Meadows.
The US Open will also extend its main singles draw to 15 days, starting a day earlier on Sunday August 24 for the tournament’s first weekend start in the Open Era.
with Reuters
Content Source: www.perthnow.com.au