Alcaraz and Raducanu to team up in revamped US Open mixed doubles
Nine of the world's top-10 men and nine of the top-10 women have officially entered into the U.S. Open's revamped mixed doubles event, tournament organisers said on Tuesday, with former singles champions Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu teaming up.
The competition, which will take place a week before the singles main draw during its "Fan Week", will award $1 million in prize money to the winning team.
Sixteen teams have entered and the entry window closes on July 28, after which the top eight teams with the best combined singles ranking will be in the draw via direct acceptance, with eight more wildcard entries.
"In our initial discussions about reimagining and elevating the U.S. Open mixed doubles championship, we wanted to find a way to showcase the world's best men and women competing with and against one another," USTA CEO Lew Sherr said.
"We were confident that we would be able to get the top players in the game excited about this unique opportunity. Seeing the teams that have already put their names on the entry list makes us all incredibly excited.
"It shows that the players are behind what we are trying to do, and we know that the fans will love it."
Other pairs include twice U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka teaming up with Nick Kyrgios, as well as Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The matches will be best of three sets, with short sets to four games, no-ad scoring, tiebreakers at four-all and a 10-point tiebreak in lieu of a third set. The final will be a best-of-three set match to six games.
Although a number of big names such as Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka have entered, the format came in for criticism from renowned doubles players.
Reigning champions Sara Errani and