Column: The U.S. Open’s Mixed Doubles Revolution is exactly what tennis needed

The U.S. Open has always prided itself on being the boldest of tennis’s Grand Slams. Night matches under the lights. Equal prize money before the others. Chair umpires wearing microphones so their bad calls can be heard in high definition. And now—mixed doubles with a million-dollar prize purse.

Yes, you read that correctly. One million dollars. For mixed doubles.

It’s a radical idea, and a fantastic one. Traditionally, doubles has lived in the shadows of singles, a kind of undercard act that only die-hard tennis nerds really track. Prize money has reflected that third-tier status (behind even regular doubles), with players often pocketing amounts that don’t even cover a season’s travel costs. But this year, the U.S. Open has essentially said: let’s treat mixed doubles like it matters. Let’s make it an actual FUN event that fans want to talk about, watch, and argue over.

And it’s working. Like working GREAT.

Of course, not everyone is thrilled because, well, tennis, you know? Doubles specialists—those hard-working but mostly anonymous players who have spent their careers carving out success in the format—are crying foul. They’re annoyed that entry into the main draw and wild cards are being based on singles rankings. Why should a team of top-20 singles stars get a free pass while teams of seasoned doubles champions are left scrambling for a spot?

It’s a fair critique. And yet—it’s also genius. Because this isn’t about fairness. This is about television (at 11am on a TUESDAY), ticket sales, and buzz. This is a glorified exhibition tucked into the week before the main U.S. Open draw. And if you want people to tune in, you don’t load up the draw with doubles experts that even hardcore fans can’t name. You bring in Rybakina and Fritz. You dream up Raducanu and Alcaraz. You want stars. Celebrity tennis has always been a thing—this just makes it official.

But here’s the twist, and here’s why this format might just be the best of both worlds: the doubles experts are still going to win.

In fact, they already are.

Errani and Vavassori run rings around singles stars

Take the opening match of the tournament. Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori—two Italians who barely register in the singles conversation—went up against Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz, both top-10 singles players. On paper, the singles stars should have rolled. In reality, Errani and Vavassori picked them apart. The scoreline was close, but the tennis was absolutely not close. This was a doubles masterclass—angles, poaching, reflex volleys, impossible lobs—played against two singles greats who looked like New York City tourists on a strange court.

Errani, of course, was once a singles somebody. She made a French Open final a decade ago and reached No. 5 in the world. But in 2024, in singles, she’s an afterthought. In doubles, though? She’s close to perfect. Watching her run circles around Rybakina and Fritz was like watching a jazz musician shred after a couple of rock stars plugged in their guitars and thought, “How hard can this be?”