Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori’s victory over Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud yielded more than the mixed-doubles championship title at the 2025 U.S. Open. The defending champions also delivered a verdict on the expertise and artistry required to succeed in doubles, as well as why, despite ratings and ticket sales success, the revamped mixed doubles must be retooled.
“I can’t say that I ever thought I’d be calling mixed doubles for seven straight hours on ESPN, which I did yesterday,” said Patrick McEnroe, during an online press conference with co-anchor Mary Joe Fernandez. “It’s been a huge success to see the top singles players playing other top singles players alongside others. Some playing really well, some not as well. ”
Fans, players, pundits and influencers are divided on whether the event is an innovative attempt to repackage the event or a “Glam Slam” way to trivialize doubles specialists.
One thing is sure: mixed doubles hasn’t gotten this much attention at a Grand Slam since Serena Williams partnered with Andy Murray at Wimbledon in 2019.
A record 78,000 fans were on-site for the two-day competition, and Arthur Ashe Stadium sold out on both days. Getting the mixed doubles tournament out of the way will free up scheduling, an issue with rain delays.
It might be a while before other Grand Slam tournament officials determine whether the revamped competition is the inaugural or the lone “reimagined” mixed-doubles event. Meanwhile, the following are takeaways from the two-day mixed-doubles competition.
The New US Open Mixed Doubles Was More Entertaining
The U.S. Open’s revamped mixed doubles brought in viewers who would otherwise skip this event. Lin-Manuel Miranda and fashion icon Anna Wintour attended the final. When was the last time that kind of star power came to watch a mixed-doubles match that didn’t involve a Williams sister?
“I know it created a lot of reaction and (it was) somewhat bold to do it,” said mixed-doubles finalist Casper Ruud, who teamed up with six-time major champion Iga Swiatek. “You can’t argue that it’s not been great for the fans.”
The E in ESPN stands for entertainment, and note that it’s first in that acronym, ahead of sports. ESPN is the U.S. Open’s broadcast partner in America, and the brand launched its new streaming service during this mixed-doubles experiment.
Fans want to see stars, and sometimes the biggest starts aren’t necessarily the best players. Similar to college football programs with larger followings getting bowl bids they don’t deserve, the new mixed doubles format was designed to lure the most popular players to the court.
“I have to say, watching Djokovic and watching Medvedev playing doubles was exciting for everyone,” said Fernandez. “I have so many people calling me saying that this is amazing. . .To hear a lot of the top players say that if this was the way it was for every major, they would probably play.”
The excitement around “ship-ing” Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu proved more potent than their mixed-doubles game. The pair lost in the first round, but highlights from their match are the most watched on the U.S. Open YouTube Channel. A highlight of Alcaraz making an excellent shot during that match is the second-most viewed video from the mixed-doubles event.
When Serena played mixed doubles with Murray, they moved their match to Centre Court, an unheard-of occurrence for a first-round mixed-doubles match at a Grand Slam.
Stars sell tickets. Ignore the quasi-qualifications used to justify seeding popular players who rarely play doubles ahead of doubles specialists based on a combined singles ranking. Coco Gauff decided she didn’t want to “waste mental energy,” playing mixed doubles. However, Gauff is one of the game’s biggest stars, and had she wanted to play; the USTA would probably have allowed her to enter with her little brother, who plays baseball.
Doubles Is A Different Game In The Same Sport
Doubles is a different game. The lines on the court illustrate the noticeable boundary differences. Knowing how to exploit the geometry separates doubles specialists from top singles players.
“Just because you’re a good singles player doesn’t translate onto the doubles court,” said Fernandez.
Venus and Serena Williams were among the few who played doubles like two singles players. They were 14-0 in Grand Slam doubles finals. But you’re talking two all-time greats who are siblings.
Because synergy is a valuable asset in doubles, siblings often have an advantage. Mike and Bob Bryan, the Bryan brothers, will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame this weekend. Brothers Luke and Murphy Jensen won the 1993 French Open title. Brother and sister Wayne and Cara Black won the 2004 Wimbledon and 2002 French Open mixed-doubles titles.
During the buildup to the tournament and during matches, commentators discussed the contrast between how two singles players interact on the court and the strategic plays set up by doubles specialists. Errani and Vavassori outmaneuvered the Top 5 singles players. However, the Italians were the only pure doubles specialists team on the court.
“They’re so good together, their chemistry is so incredibly good, that it’s fun to see at that level how much they’ve made it an expertise to play the angles, the geometry of the court, how they cover each other,” said Fernandez of the Italians. “The combination of fantastic singles players and the doubles specialists playing make it even better.”
Although Swiatek and Ruud played well for their first pairing, their path to the final didn’t include any doubles specialists teams. Pegula played doubles but was paired with a singles player who rarely played doubles and hadn’t competed since Wimbledon.
Had Swiatek and Ruud come up against Taylor Townsend paired with Rajeev Ram or Mate Pavić, top doubles specialists, would they have made it to the finals?
The issue is most top doubles specialists were locked outside of the competition. Using combined singles rankings to seed doubles teams was ridiculous. Taylor Fritz, a finalist at the 2024 U.S. Open and Elena Rybakina, 2022 Wimbledon champion, had bigger serves and forehands but were no match for Errani and Vavassori because doubles is a different game, played at the net and in the air, and not from the baseline.
Rich Got Richer With New US Open Mixed Doubles Event
Novak Djokovic has earned $188.9 million in career-prize money, more than any other player in the history of tennis and more than Venus and Serena Williams combined. Yet, Djokovic likely got a $50,000 appearance fee to play in a mixed-doubles event that most doubles specialists couldn’t enter.
The $1 million prize money was five times more than what Errani and Vavassori earned last year when they won the same title, playing more sets and more matches.
“It’s frustrating. That money is going to players who are making an absolute boatload anyway,” doubles specialist Jamie Murray, told BBC Sport.
“They aren’t playing because it’s an opportunity to win a Grand Slam, they’re playing because they’re getting a truckload of cash and potentially a pretty cool event,” said Murray, a seven-time Major winner in doubles and mixed doubles.
“It would be like if, at the Olympics, they didn’t let the actual high jumpers participate, and instead had basketball players compete in the high jump because it’s more ‘interesting.’ If you want to do that, I guess you can, but you can’t award them medals,” Errani said in an interview with the Associated Press, prior to the tournament. “You can’t have a Grand Slam doubles (trophy) and not let doubles players take part. … You’re excluding them from their sport. It’s dishonest.”
John McEnroe, who was No. 1 in doubles and singles, argued that the increased prize money in mixed-doubles and doubles should please doubles specialists.
However, if most of the increased money goes to singles players, what’s the point?
Mixed doubles is not an event at most tournaments. The few combined tournaments, including the Cincinnati Open, Miami Open and Indian Wells, don’t have mixed-doubles. Grand Slams are the only time doubles specialists can make big money. The USTA bragging about a $1 million purse in which they can’t get, angered some doubles specialists.
How big is the pay gap between doubles and singles? Huge, especially for women. The WTA’s Tennis in the Land tournament is a 250-level event in Cleveland. The doubles winners, from a field of 32 teams, will split $21, 484. Even at the Cincinnati Open, the women’s doubles team split $139, 121. The men’s doubles team at the same event, split $457,150. The men’s semifinalist in Cincinnati made nearly as much as the women’s winners, despite both men and women playing best of three sets at the same venue. The women’s travel expenses are not three times less expensive than their male counterparts.
In the revamped mixed doubles, Gael Monfils and Naomi Osaka, neither of whom needs the money, got in as alternates over Katerina Siniakova, who won the gold medal in mixed doubles in 2024 and has ten doubles Grand Slam titles.
Danielle Collins is ranked No. 59 in singles. Christian Harrison is a doubles specialist, but if using the same singles ranking formula, how does he get in over Siniakova, who is ranked No. 74 in singles and No. 2 in doubles? Harrison is No. 17 in doubles, and his career high in singles was No. 198 in 2018. The invitation-only aspect of the non-singles entries made this seem more like a private party than a Grand Slam competition.
The new mixed-doubles diminishes the expertise displayed by doubles specialists. However, there is no doubt that the bigger names attract more viewers and larger paychecks.
Anytime a sport tries something new, you’ll get naysayers. It’s unlikely that the U.S. Open will ditch the revamped mixed doubles. The positive feedback outweighed the negative. Tweaking the lineup and scheduling could produce a mixed-doubles tournament that improves the earnings of specialists while attracting the participation of top singles players, a win-win.