Mixed Up
After months of handwringing, the crowdpleasing U.S. Open mixed doubles shindig kicked off.
NEW YORK — The first day of the U.S. Open mixed doubles extravaganza is in the books, and at least on site here in Flushing Meadows, reviews for the new concept have been overwhelmingly positive.
Thousands packed into both Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium for the 12 matches on Tuesday; Armstrong, which was free to enter, was especially full as the day wore on.
The matches were quick, to be sure, but the results felt non-random: many scores were decisive, and none of the 12 matches required more than two sets.
Results-wise, it was a big day for ATP doubles specialists, as Andrea Vavassori got a BouncesBounce™ that took himself and Sara Errani into the semifinals.
The broader sociological stakes are nowhere near as high—doubles specialists are not a societal group whose inherent human rights to play doubles are essential—but I almost get some ‘Battle of the Sexes’ vibes from Errani and Vavassori’s quest in this tournament. They’re trying to prove the merits of a broader population of athletes through their performances, and they seem to be rising to the occasion so far.
Errani and Vavassori opened with a 4-2, 4-2 win over Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina—with Fritz struggling to understand how to react to Errani’s slo-mo serve, amusingly. Whereas Fritz and Rybakina looked baffled, the Italians were dialed in and ready, having watched footage of Fritz and Rybakina’s win at Tiebreak Tens earlier this year while preparing.
“We love to study,” Vavassori said.
Errani and Vavassori backed up that opening win with a 4-1, 5-4(4) win over Karolina Muchova and Andrey Rublev.
The other doubles specialist who found success, unexpectedly, was Christian Harrison, who hadn’t been in the draw until today. Ranked 17th in the ATP doubles standings, Harrison has been having a breakout season in men’s doubles; he and fellow American Evan King are currently in a qualifying spot for the year-end ATP Finals. When singles No. 1 Jannik Sinner pulled out on Tuesday morning, Harrison entered as an alternate along with Danielle Collins, and the two quickly dispatched Belinda Bencic and Alexander Zverev 4-0, 5-3, baking the day’s only bagel.
Collins and Harrison then pulled off what was probably the biggest upset of the day, beating popular picks Taylor Townsend 4-1, 5-4(2) to reach the semifinals against Errani and Vavassori.
Harrison, who hasn’t been on this event’s radar before today, said he hadn’t held any grievance about the controversial format change, and seemed to endorse it.
“You want the sport to evolve,” Harrison said. “Anytime I think that's the main goal, to be honest—where people are trying things—things are never going to be perfect the first time, with anything. But I think we were always like, ‘Hey, they're trying to do something to make it evolve.’ It's hard not to be supporting something with that mindset.”
While there will be at least one doubles specialist in the final coming out of the bottom half, there will also be two singles stars across the net, as the highly-seeded pairs of Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper rolled to the semifinals with only dropping six games, a stinginess matched by their soon-to-be semifinal opponents Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud.
Pegula and Draper, who found each other last week after their original partners withdrew, admitted they had spoken maybe “four” words to each other before this week.
“I've seen you around before,” Draper said of Pegula. “She is always locked in, got her headphones in. I'm the same. I don't think we like people. We don't talk to them.”
Pegula also admitted that Draper was “a way better doubles player than I thought,” impressed by his eagerness to call for aggressive formations and other tactics.
Though they hadn’t spent much time on court together, Ruud also saw similarities between himself and Swiatek.
“On the court she's very, very intense—in a good way,” Ruud said. “I like those kind of players. I think we both idolized Rafa when we grew up. Just the focus when we go on court: we're there to do a job, and kind of go into the zone. She really does that incredibly well. I really like when she does her [shadow] swings on the court and gets ready for a point. It's not something the men always do too much. I really think it's a cool thing. It's her thing, her way of getting ready for a new point. I've done it in the past in training. I don't do it so much in matches. It just shows how focused and determined she is.”
Did you enjoy this newfangled mixed extravaganza? Who do you think will prevail in the semifinals and finals on Wednesday evening? Please chime in in the comments below.
Thanks for reading Bounces! -Ben
As a pro doubles junkie (and US Open season ticket holder), I was irate when they announced the new format. It seemed like a stunt, a sop to ESPN, and an irritating exercise in throwing money ($1M is top prize) at rich singles stars who don’t need it. Just the latest slight to excellent workaday doubles players who toil in obscurity with zero support from tours or networks.
But my fury melted away about 10 seconds after I started watching it. The novelty of it all! The teams, matchups, charm, Xs and Os, brisk pace.
The full stadiums of people watching doubles! This was such a refreshing change, and all televised. Finally the masses get to see how good the product is.
I’ve sat in empty stands watching doubles at RG, Melbourne, Buenos Aires, Phoenix, Miami. It was great to sit wherever I wanted, yet I hated it for the players … and always worried the tours would finally kill off doubles altogether as they seem to want to.
Here’s hoping this is just the jumping off point. Get the real doubles players in there next year. There were 12 matches today on two stadium courts (R16, QF), so 6 apiece and it took all day. Next year how about a 32-team, 3-day event with half “real” doubles teams and half singles stars, or if you keep it at two days, make it 8 “real” doubles teams and 8 celeb teams instead of 15 and 1. Or mix it up for e.g. Ram/Pegula vs. Ruud/Siniakova.
Relatedly, it’s important that Vavassori and Errani won twice today. Mooted the “those players can’t compete with real tennis players” argument.
One has to admit it’s been much more entertaining and enjoyable to watch than we expected. The results so far aren’t surprising: Pegula is a former doubles world No. 1, Collins frequently plays doubles, and both Iga and Casper have competed in mixed doubles on several occasions. They are exactly the kind of players who would benefit from this new type of mixed doubles tournament.
In my view, one way to make mixed doubles more popular -- without completely undermining the interests of doubles specialists -- would be to structure the draw so that half the spots are reserved for teams with high combined doubles rankings and the other half for singles specialists. This would keep the competition engaging, broaden its appeal, and likely attract sponsors, ultimately improving the livelihoods of doubles specialists in the long run.