When the US Open’s souped-up, $1million mixed doubles event was announced, it was greeted with wails of anger; when the field was unveiled there were squeals of excitement; now the jamboree is actually getting underway, the rising of the curtain is in danger of being greeted by a shrug of indifference.
From a British point of view – and for most of the world, actually – the most greedily-awaited partnership is Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz. Aside from the creepy and unfounded speculation about a romantic involvement, they are two of the most famous players in the world and seeing how they interact on court will be fascinating.
The partnership was thrown into serious doubt by Alcaraz reaching the final of the Cincinnati Masters against his great rival Jannik Sinner, a match that took place less than 24 hours before he was due to take the court in the mixed doubles.
It was, however, a hugely anticlimactic final as Sinner retired with illness after just 23 minutes, trailing 5-0. It is only a two-hour flight from Cincinnati to New York (and a private jet would shave off another 30 minutes) so team Raducanu are confident Alcaraz will be ready to go today.
The flip side, of course, is that Sinner is surely out of the mixed doubles, meaning both world No1s have been scratched from the initial field, after Aryna Sabalenka withdrew.
The Italian appears to be suffering from the same illness which affected Alexander Zverev in Cincinnati, and so the world No3’s participation in the mixed is in doubt too. With both men heavily prioritising their singles campaigns over what is effectively an exhibition event, the US Open’s big launch is danger of falling apart.
Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu are the biggest billing of the new-look mixed doubles but their partnership could be in jeopardy due to scheduling
British No 1 Jack Draper has been through three partners and counting ahead of the event
Jannik Sinner was forced to retire on Monday and looks in no state to be jeopardising singles
And herein lies the problem with Flushing Meadows’ new vision for mixed doubles – by excluding all but a few of the specialists (entry is decided on singles and not doubles ranking) they have also excluded the players who actually care about winning it.
When the field was announced, there were a combined 18/20 from the current men’s and women’s top 10; that figure is down to 14 and could well drop further. The USTA will have been extremely frustrated by the withdrawals of Emma Navarro and Tommy Paul – two Americans on whose loyalty they would have been depending.
Jack Draper – who all being well will face Raducanu in an enticing battle of Britain at 7pm UK time today (on Tuesday) – has been forced to change partners with Henry VIII-esque frequency.
He was paired with Chinese gold medal winner Qinwen Zheng, who pulled out after having elbow surgery. At the same time the event lost one of its most bankable pairings – and the winners of the Mixed Madness event which was a precursor last year – when tennis it-couple Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas split up. If playing doubles with a significant other is awkward, playing with an ex is unthinkable.
So Tsitsipas withdrew and Badosa paired up with Draper. The Spaniard then scratched her nomination as her back issues continue and so Draper has ended up with American world No4 Jessica Pegula – actually the best of the lot, and as the No1 seeds, Jess and Jack should fancy their chances of scooping the combined first prize of a cool million bucks.
But that alliance is part of a swathe of hasty re-pairings which has left the event punctured and leaking legitimacy.
The simple fact is if there is any sense of the mixed doubles impinging on one of the top players’ singles campaign they withdraw with no hesitation. Back to Cincinnati, overnight Iga Swiatek was taking on Jasmine Paolini in the women’s final. Paolini has already withdrawn from the mixed, meaning the colourful all-Italian pairing with Lorenzo Musetti has become a shrug-worthy pairing of Musetti and American world No104 Caty McNally.
It is laughable that the USTA’s big new event is in danger of being severely compromised by an American tournament playing its finals on a Monday – rather than on Sunday as at every other event. Bob Moran, tournament director in Cincinnati, insists this is very far from his own choice, that the Monday finish has been foisted on him by the ATP to give players more time to rest between matches.
Fans were denied the return of ‘Tsitsidosa’ – the pairing of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa – when the real-life couple split up
It is a classic example of the sport failing to operate in lockstep, of the tours getting in each other’s way.
If Swiatek also decides to sack off the mixed and Sinner, as expected, takes to his sick bed, the US Open’s field will be in ruins and they will be forced to scrabble around to fill the gaps. They might even have to ask some doubles players.
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Speaking of doubles players, their anger remains. Even Jamie Murray – by a distance the more mild-mannered of the Scottish siblings – had some strong words. ‘They’ve obviously totally rigged it to get the top player participation,’ the 39-year-old told Mail Sport at Wimbledon. The gist of the doubles players’ argument – and it is a valid one – is that this event could have existed just fine as a big-money exhibition, without having to cannibalize the traditional US Open mixed doubles – which Murray himself has won three times.
‘I’m sure it’ll be a fun event but I don’t see why they couldn’t have just had both,’ argued Murray.
‘They’re not playing because it’s the chance to win the mixed doubles Grand Slam. They’re playing because there’s a s*** ton of money to be won.
‘Why could they not just have that event as an exhibition thing? Which, in reality, it kind of is.