Eisenhower Cup mixed doubles pairings generate excitement

Indian Wells, the BNP Paribas Open, Tennis Paradise, and the unofficial fifth major is almost upon us. The tournament is beloved by fans and players alike and has a lot of names. The Eisenhower Cup, the one-night exhibition that kicks off tennis at Indian Wells, scheduled for Tuesday, March 5, also has a lot of names. They are the names of highly-ranked and well-known players who will be organized into mixed doubles pairings for the event.

Some of the pairings are patriotic, some have a recent history of winning, some are intriguing, and one of the pairs is a well-known tennis couple that began their dating relationship last year at Indian Wells.

Taylor Fritz and Aryna Sabalenka are the defending champions returning to defend their title. Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz, representing Poland, and Americans Jessica Pegula and Tommy Paul are returning.

Who are the new teams?

The five remaining teams are new for 2024. All are compelling pairings led by Caroline Wozniacki with fellow Dane Holger Rune who could logging playing time before the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Elena Rybakina and Andrey Rublev will be playing as a team along with a new American tandem Emma Navarro and Ben Shelton. An interesting mixed-country team of personality and temperament is Qinwen Zheng and Frances Tiafoe.

The most intriguing team is real-life couple Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas affectionately known as Tsitsidosa. Last year, each player was paired with a different partner, Badosa with Cam Norrie, and Tsitsipas with fellow Greek Maria Sakkari. The relationship reportedly began after the Eisenhower Cup match.

Leylah Fernandez and Ons Jabeur played last year but are not returning. Coco Gauff, Jannik Sinner, and Carlos Alcaraz are noticeably absent presumably choosing not to play because they definitely would have been asked.

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