When it was revealed that ‘A blockbuster lineup of star-studded teams have officially entered into the reimagined US Open Mixed Doubles Championship for 2025,’ the hype among fans aggravated to new heights and why not? They will get to witness a fresh look at their favorite singles stars, who will team up for the US Open mixed doubles event next month. However, it will be a different rendition compared to the traditional format. This time, the entire mixed doubles extravaganza will last for just two days. No week-long hassles. Plus, the sets will get reduced to just games. Sounds fun, right? But the ‘doubles Specialists’ are clearly unhappy.
Just a while ago, the reigning US Open mixed doubles champion, Andre Vavassori, expressed his disappointment. “We see it as a profound injustice that disrespect an entire category of players… Put money above tennis is never a good idea,” he wrote on social media. And now, another ATP pro and newly crowned Wimbledon queen Iga Swiatek‘s compatriot has shared an unfavorable take.
During an interaction with Polish media outlet Sport.pl, Poland’s Jan Zieliński minced no words in raising questions on the US Open this season. When asked to comment on the changes made to the mixed doubles event and the list of pairs revealed, he simply replied, “First, I’d like to point out that the announced pairings aren’t the official list yet (the participants include Iga Świątek, whose partner is Casper Ruud—editor’s note). Registration is formally open until July 28th.” He initially commended the overhaul. “I think the tournament itself is fantastic. It will bring many financial, media, and marketing benefits. Many people will be interested in such a competition.”
A STAR-STUDDED lineup of teams have officially entered the reimagined US Open Mixed Doubles Championship!
More info: https://t.co/bIMJGbf3qI pic.twitter.com/Hw1yA87pgj
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) June 17, 2025
However, the 2023 Australian Open mixed doubles finalist then expressed his frustration, saying, “let’s not call it a Grand Slam.” Why? Zieliński explained, “We’re missing the tradition, history, and overall class of the event. The mixed Grand Slam in New York dates back several decades. It has always been played under different rules.” He reminded them that “Big names used to win this event by playing for a week or a week and a half, and now suddenly the title will be available by competing over two days and playing to four games.”
Concluding his remarks, the Polish pro said, “This would lose the impact and significance of such a major event.” But the question remains: will it really lose the impact? According to a former American pro, it’s the opposite.
Andy Roddick backs US Open’s mixed doubles overhaul and here’s why
Going by what the 2003 US Open winner is believing, it seems the upcoming change is for the good of the doubles format. According to Andy Roddick, “I was all for this coz people were like, ‘Oh, we have to grow the game of doubles.’ So you can’t take that away from a doubles that people don’t watch regularly. And that was confusing to me.”
However, now “you get nine out of the top ten on each side, biggest stars on Earth and then some. This is going to bring more eyeballs to the game of doubles.”
The ex-pro did confess that existing doubles ‘Specialists’ may lose their jobs. “But if your net-net most important thing, which is the defense that I get when people get mad at me when I talk about doubles, is ‘We have to grow the game of doubles,’ there is not a better way to grow the game of doubles than to have the biggest stars on Earth playing doubles featured ESPN prime time in the lead-up to the US Open.”
For him, the overhaul is no less than an “All-Star game for tennis.” Another thing to note is that the prize money for the champion team this season will be $1 million. It’s an astonishing jump of 400 percent compared to last year’s amount ($200,000). What are your views on the massive changes made by the US Open organizers to this year’s mixed doubles experience? Let us know in the comments below.
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