The US Open mixed doubles tournament received considerable changes from the United States Tennis Association (USTA) through their recent announcement.
The US Open will organise its mixed doubles tournament as an individual event which precedes the primary singles tournaments during the period between August 19-20 at the Flushing Meadows venue.
The tournament will include 16 teams that will be filled by eight direct selections based on combined singles rankings and eight teams through wild cards.
The new scoring system for all matches except the final features four-game sets while using no-ad scoring until deuce point decides each game and ending matches through a 10-point tie-break instead of a third set.
USTA plans to boost popularity of mixed doubles by matching it against the prestigious Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium for better fans worldwide exposure.
Despite raising doubts among critics who fear the mixed doubles title will lose value at the hearings and doubles specialists will have restricted opportunities.
Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori along with other existing champions adopted a confrontational stance by describing these changes as a “pseudo-exhibition” along with “profound injustice” that “disrespect(s) an entire category of players.”
“In our opinion making decisions just following the logic of profit is profoundly wrong in some situations.” Andrea said.
“Last year, to win the US Open together was one of the greatest moments in our careers. We felt unbelievable warmth and support from the Italian fans and this made us really happy.
“Mixed doubles is not very well known, that’s true, but everything that’s part of a Slam competition – the History behind every single result – is unique and it’s a great honour to become part of it.” Andrea added.
In a US Open press release two elite American singles stars Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz expressed their excitement about participating in the mixed doubles event this season.
