NEW YORK – The exchange between Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper at the press conference was fascinating.
—Jack Draper: (winning the mixed doubles title) It would mean a lot. Obviously it is like a bit of an exhibition format…
—Jessica Pegula: You shouldn’t be saying that, but that’s okay.
—Draper: What? What did I say?
—Pegula: (to the journalists) You guys know what I mean.
—Draper: Have a bit of fun with it. I don’t know… I like winning. It’s good to win, right?
—Pegula: Yeah. It’s not an exhibition.
—Draper: I’m hearing that a lot: it’s a bit of an exhibition, a bit of fun…
An official tournament disguised as an exhibition? Call it what you will. Mixed doubles at the US Open has already been successfully approved.
The success can be measured by the words of the competitors and the reaction of a happy crowd: never before had so many people gathered in a tennis stadium to watch the first round of this event.
This Tuesday, the Arthur Ashe Stadium was around 70% full. That’s roughly 16,000 spectators. At times, the cheapest resale tickets, just days before the tournament started, were a little under $100. Basic math is enough to calculate the revenue from ticket sales alone.
On Wednesday night, the court was almost packed. So different compared to the 2024 mixed doubles final.
In addition, all the buzz around the event—with the hype around Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu at the center of the conversation—brought another gain to the tournament: a huge amount of organic publicity. At times, Wimbledon was talking about the US Open.
As Casper Ruud said, the rest of the Grand Slams must be watching “with wide-open eyes.”
Is it possible to think that New York’s innovation will be replicated in other tennis capitals?
“It was a bold move from the US Open to do this. I know it created a lot of reactions. Tennis hasn’t changed much in terms of rules or the system in many, many years. So why not try something else?” said the Norwegian, partner of Polish player Iga Swiatek in the “reimagined tournament.”
“I don’t think this is set to be something going on for the next 30 years. I believe this year is a small trial. If it’s well received by fans and players, I think there’s a chance others will consider it,” he added.
The 2022 US Open singles finalist shared what he saw from inside the court: “Today they had an almost full Arthur Ashe for the whole day. What I saw out there were mostly young kids seeing the top players compete in a very different setting, where men and women play together. I think that’s a really positive thing for the kids and for us, doing something different.”
The only major complaints have come from doubles players. Andrea Vavassori, invited to the tournament alongside Sara Errani solely as defending champion, made a notable comment: “We’re playing for all the doubles players who couldn’t compete.”
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“I think the best thing we can take from this week is that more people will get to know mixed doubles. I also think it will be positive for the future,” he said, seeing the glass half full.
“It’s obvious what they’re trying to do when you look at the roster. Whether it’s what’s best for the players or what’s fair is another conversation,” said world No. 1 doubles player Taylor Townsend in an interview published by RG Media.
Until the last-minute inclusion of North American Christian Harrison due to Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal, Vavassori was the only male doubles player among the participants.
On Tuesday, the Italians were clearly superior to their singles opponents: Rybakina and Fritz; Muchova and Rublev.
They didn’t lose any of the short sets they played, which were contested to four games for added dynamism—one of the rules that gave the event its exhibition-like flavor.
The specialists proved that they can often play better than two very good singles players who don’t know each other—a point they can bring up in future discussions.
