Months ago, when the US Open announced that it was altering the mixed doubles format and timing for this year's tournament, tennis fans have been skeptical.
Moving mixed doubles to the week before the tournament main draw and inviting teams who are not traditionally involved in mixed doubles were big shifts for a sport that does not always embrace change.
Tennis purists worried that mixed doubles specialists would be sidelined, and singles players would use the opportunity to get matches in on the New York hardcourts before main draw action.
US Open mixed doubles dream team pairings
Andy Roddick has coined this event as the All-Star game of tennis. Except for Coco Gauff, every high-ranked male or female singles player has joined forces to create a mixed doubles team.
There are the expected ones along country lines: Jessica Pegula and Tommy Paul, Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Townsend and Ben Shelton, Olga Danilovic and Novak Djokovic, Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev, and Jasmine Paolini and Lorenzo Musetti.
Then, there are the surprise teams that no one would have predicted: Emma Navarro and Jannik Sinner, Qinwen Zheng and Jack Draper, and the one that has everyone talking: Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz. The Eisenhower Cup champions, Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz, are reuniting, and the French Open and reigning US Open champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori are also in the mix.
The real-life partners, Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas, and the on-tour pals, Aryna Sabalenka and Grigor Dimitrov, are also on the list. Outlier teams that no one knows what to make of are the Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud pair and the Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios duo.
The previous prize money for the US Open mixed doubles champions was $200,000 per team or $100,000 per person. In the reimagined 2025 version, the prize money is a whopping $1 million or $500,000 per person. More money and attention are at stake than a standard mixed doubles US Open championship, and some traditional mixed players are salty about that.
I guess winning two grand slams in mixed doubles in one year is not enough to get an invitation to US Open „exhibition” event.
— Jan Zielinski (@zielaczekk) June 18, 2025
Thanks for taking away the opportunity to compete and making it fair to everyone 🤝@usta @usopen pic.twitter.com/OMsoam39iC
The reigning champions (Errani/Vavassori) and one-half of the runner-up team from 2024 (Taylor Townsend) are on the list. Townsend's 2024 partner, Donald Young, retired from professional tennis after the US Open and is playing pickleball now.
The ultimate tests for this reimagined US Open mixed doubles event are twofold. Will the fans buy tickets to watch mixed doubles a week before the singles main draw? Can these dream teams, who have limited time to practice together, produce a high level of tennis on August 19 and 20?