With a star-studded lineup, record prize money ($1 million), and a bit of controversy, the US Open mixed doubles event gets underway in New York. 8 teams have been handed a direct entry in this event, while an additional 8 were given wild cards. Though there have been some popular mixed doubles partnerships in the past (Serena Williams and Andy Murray at the 2019 Wimbledon), this is undoubtedly the most star-studded field in history. Talking about the decision for this revamp, USTA released a statement saying the goal is to drive greater awareness for this storied competition, giving fans both in attendance and across the globe the opportunity to see tennis’s biggest stars playing together.
Talking about tennis’ biggest stars competing in this tournament, on the women’s side, Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, Elena Rybakina, and a few others will be seen in action. While on the men’s side, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and probably Jannik Sinner will also be seen in action. Why probably, though? Sinner was forced to retire from his Cincinnati Open final match against Alcaraz within 23 minutes of this epic duel. He looked out of sorts in the sweltering heat and had to call for the doctor after going down in the first set by 0-5.
With this defeat, Jannik Sinner’s 26-match winning streak also comes to an end on the hard courts. However, other than the disappointing outcome of this match, Sinner’s withdrawal has now brought dark clouds on his chances of participating in the US Open mixed doubles event. Amid all these, Eric Butorac, the US Open’s Senior Director of Player Relations, shared a very interesting insight about Sinner’s wish for this star-studded event. In the recent episode of Nothing Major Show, Sam Querrey asked Butorac if Serena Williams, Roger Federer, or Rafael Nadal had sent any text to inquire about this event. In reply, he said, “Yeah, Sinner did ask if Serena would be an option.”
As per anti-doping rules, players intending to come out of retirement need to comply with the WADA’s reinstatement protocols before returning to competition. It stated that players must be available for testing for at least six months in advance of participating in International or National events covered by the World Anti-Doping Code. As per Eric Butora, “I believe Serena’s not back in the doping protocol. So, when you come back and being a top player, like guys like me, we could probably jump right back in…I don’t know of Roger or Rafa are actually in probably in the same situation, but I didn’t hear from Roger, Rafa about playing either.”
Jannik Sinner Wins His First Wimbledon Trophy – UK Jannik Sinner ITA wins his first Wimbledon Trophy at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships at the AELTC in London, UK, on July 13, 2025. Photo by Corinne Dubreuil/ABACAPRESS.COM London United Kingdom PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxFRAxUK Copyright: xDubreuilxCorinne/ABACAx
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