What does the doubles tweak in the US Open mean

A $1 million prize money purse, a separate two-day event the weekend before the main draw starts, and a revamped shorter format have been introduced for the mixed doubles event of the 2025 US Open in a bid to draw participation from the biggest stars and revive the fortunes of the much-ignored doubles category of mainstream tennis.

While singles stars of previous generations may have been regular features in the doubles draws of Grand Slam tournaments, the great prize money and ranking points at stake in singles, and the congested annual tennis calendar, have kept the biggest names of the modern game away from doubles altogether.

The result has been an average spectacle – men’s doubles considered too serve-dominant and women’s doubles too lightweight – and while the mixed category offers a bit of unpredictability and dynamism, it remains a novelty reserved for events like the Olympics or the off-chance a unique partnership takes the court at a Major.

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To give it some shine, and earn more money as a result, the US Open has taken the most drastic step yet to alter how the mixed doubles is played. Reactions have been mixed.

What is the new format?

Instead of adding to the weight of the schedule which led to withdrawals from the big names during the fortnight, mixed doubles at the US Open will be played separately over two days, August 19-20, before main draw action kicks off in the singles draws starting August 24.

A total of 16 teams will take place in the draw, eight will be seeded as a result of their combined singles rankings and the other eight will be wildcard entries. The matches will be shorter – best-of-three sets but played only till four games, with tiebreakers taking place at 4-4, instead of 6-6. Only the final will resemble a full-fledged Grand Slam match. The prize for the tournament will stand at $1 million, expected to attract big names.

How have players reacted?

Last year’s winners, the Italian pair of Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, described it as a “profound injustice.” “Making decisions just following the logic of profit is profoundly wrong in some situations,” they said in a joint statement, according to BBC. “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. We see it as a profound injustice that disrespects an entire category of players.”

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Australian professional Ellen Perez wrote on X: “Tell us that you think doubles players are trash, that tradition is overrated and job opportunity is a thing of the past without actually saying it.”

India No. 1 and mixed doubles champion at the 2017 French Open, Rohan Bopanna, is not impressed either. “By restricting entry to singles-ranked players, the 2025 US Open Mixed Doubles effectively sidelines India from contention, denying millions of Indian fans the chance to see their country represented on one of tennis’ biggest stages,” he told Sportskeeda.

Has doubles become a sideshow?

With the top players refraining from taking part, and singles tournaments dwarfing the size of the doubles category, less and less eyeballs have fallen on doubles in recent times. But that had not always been the case.

The greats of the previous generation would prioritise doubles too. John McEnroe has as many singles titles as he does doubles titles – 77 each. Martina Navratilova won more career titles in doubles than she did in singles – she had 41 Major titles in women’s and mixed combined compared to 18 in singles.

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But with the requirements of playing more than 20 events all year round across three surfaces, doubles commitments for the biggest names are too much of an ask.

How does doubles figure in tennis economics?

Short answer: it does not.

If tennis economics are dominated by just the four Major tournaments, in the 21st century they are dominated merely by the singles Majors. The rest of the year, not even historically significant singles events, let alone doubles, garner much attention. Only a small core of singles-heavy tournaments with the presence of the elite players are watched worldwide.

That is why almost all the ATP Masters 1000 events and WTA 1000 events are now two-week long affairs as opposed to the one-week tournaments they had been for nearly 20 years. The ticketing, sponsorship, and broadcast revenue earned from those events represent most of the profit that is there to earn in tennis.

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The US Open’s latest move will not really revive the mixed doubles format as much as it will open up the opportunity to maximise their profit margins – a separate two-day event that will be ticketed separately and add to the broadcasting rights which may be a big draw for the tournament if some of the big names feature.

So, the cynical reaction of the players for whom doubles success is the defining part of their sporting legacy, may be understandable in that context.

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