New York, Aug 18 (IANS) — The draw for the 16-team US Open Mixed Doubles Championship has been announced, setting up a string of blockbuster first-round clashes. Eight teams qualified through direct entry based on combined singles rankings, while the remaining eight received wild cards.
Top seeds Jack Draper and Jessica Pegula face a formidable opener against former US Open singles champions Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu. The winners will meet either Olga Danilovic/Novak Djokovic or Mirra Andreeva/Daniil Medvedev.
In other standout matches, second seeds Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina will take on defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori. Third seeds Casper Ruud and Iga Swiatek open against Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe, while fourth seeds Amanda Anisimova and Holger Rune face Ben Shelton and Taylor Townsend.
Men’s world No. 1 and defending US Open singles champion Jannik Sinner, originally paired with Emma Navarro (who withdrew), will now partner 10-time Grand Slam doubles winner Katerina Siniakova via a wild-card entry. Another reshuffle saw Lorenzo Musetti team up with Caty McNally after Jasmine Paolini withdrew following her Cincinnati Open run.
Direct entries also include Andrey Rublev and Karolina Muchova, while wild cards were granted to Naomi Osaka and Gael Monfils, adding more star power to the field.
The revamped event will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, with matches on Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Through the semifinals, matches will follow a shortened best-of-three format: sets to four games, no-ad scoring, tiebreaks at 4-all, and a 10-point match tiebreak in place of a third set. The final will use the traditional six-game set format, with no-ad scoring and a 10-point match tiebreak at one set all.
The mixed doubles champions will lift a Grand Slam trophy along with $1 million in prize money.
