Collins/Harrison rolling early

New York Times

13 hours ago

Follow live from today's U.S. Open mixed doubles action after Jannik Sinner pulled out of event Getty Images
Collins/Harrison 3-0 Bencic/Zverev
The most adversity the American alternates have faced so far is a tiebreak in the third game. Danielle Collins quickly wins the next two points in service to take care of that. What a start! The Athletic
Just a cool $498 for one of these Polo Ralph Lauren bags being sold inside of Arthur Ashe Stadium. If my taste in fashion were slightly more refined, I might be tempted to see just how far I could push The Athletic 's expense policy. Alas...
Collins/Harrison 2-0 Bencic/Zverev
An early serve break for the Americans courtesy of Christian Harrison, whose doubles experience is on full display early. He's frustrating Belinda Bencic down the line and dominating with volleys in net play.
Medvedev/Andreeva 3-2 Djokovic/Danilović
Daniil Medvedev and Mirra Andreeva get the opening break of the match. It looked like Novak Djokovic was going to his serve his way out of trouble down 0-40, bringing it back to deuce and the deciding point.
But the Serbian's approach and movement to the net gave Medevedev too much of a gap. The Russian perfectly placed a forehand winner between Djokovic and Danilović, leading to the winner and break.
Medvedev will serve for the set.
Collins/Harrison 1-0 Bencic/Zverev
Excellent start for Christian Harrison, the most experienced doubles player on the court. He loves the opening service game against Bencic and Zverev. Getty Images
Novak Djokovic doesn't play a whole lot of doubles, but he is one of the most precise servers in the game. That ought to be a useful asset for him and Olga Danilović against Daniil Medvedev and Mirra Andreeva, but Andreeva has developed into a bit of a doubles queen in her partnership with Diana Shnaider on the women's tour.
Djokovic/Danilović 1-0 Andreeva/Medvedev
A good start for Novak Djokovic and Olga Danilović. They win a deciding point, thanks to Djokovic's serve, giving them the first game of the match.
Collins/Harrison 0-0 Bencic/Zverev
Next up at Louis Armstrong Stadium is an intriguing matchup featuring Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison — the world No. 17 men's doubles player currently — against European heavyweights Belinda Bencic and Alexander Zverev.
Collins and Harrison were only added to this field just hours ago when Jannik Sinner had to withdraw from his doubles pairing with Katerina Siniakova.
Djokovic/Danilovic 0-0 Andreeva/Medvedev
The matches continue at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Novak Djokovic, 24-time singles slam winner, is playing with Olga Danilovic. The Serbian pair is facing Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev.
Game on!
It helps that Taylor Townsend is a world No. 1 in doubles and Ben Shelton may be the best pure athelte in the sport other than Carlos Alcaraz.
Shelton and Townsend would meet Errani and Vavassori in the semifinals if all goes well. That would be a ripper.
My completely unscientific assessment is that Shelton/Townsend have the best vibes going and are the crowd favorites. Take that for what it's worth but they look like they will be tough to beat.
Nothing but good vibes for Ben Shelton and Taylor Townsend after their win today. That's by design, Townsend tells ESPN:
💬 'Ben brings out a certain energy for me. ... He's the vibe coordinator. He keeps it fresh. We have so much fun. ... I know he's got my back, I got his.''
And Shelton has plenty of praise in return.
💬 'She's amazing, I'm just along for the ride. She carries the team. I just do what she says. Obviously, she's the no. 1 player in the world, best mixed doubles player in the world. I got lucky that we partnered up together.'
Townsend/Shelton 4-2, 5-4(2) Anisimova/Rune
That tiebreak was a masterclass from the women's world No. 1 in doubles. Taylor Townsend was everywhere on her side of the court, with Ben Shelton having to do very little other than a nice volley that Amanda Anisimova hit into the net. But despite the upset loss, Anisimova and Holger Rune are all smiles and jokes with Townsend and Shelton — who also really impressed today — when shaking hands
Viewers at home have likely seen close-up shots of players signaling behind their back between points. In doubles, the serving team will signal where they are going to place the serve, and what the player at the net is going to do.
They might poach — try and intercept the ball as it comes back; fake — pretend to poach, but then come back, in an attempt to an induce an error; or stay — just cover their zone from where they are.
At an advanced level, returning teams will signal too, about the shot the person receiving the serve will hit and what their partner will do in response. Getty Images
Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper finally eliminate Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz on their fifth match-point opportunity. The decisive point came at deuce, with no ad-scoring in effect for this mixed doubles tournament. With fan favorites like Raducanu and Alcaraz going out in that fashion, I wonder whether that will turn some fans against this shortened scoring format.
Townsend/Shelton (1) 4-2, 4-4(2-1) Anisimova/Rune
That's where Taylor Townsend's doubles mastery comes in. She anticipates Holger Rune's volley practically before it happens, and it leads to a big serve break and early tiebreak advantage for Townsend and Ben Shelton. Townsend and Shelton then hold serve on the next two points and have Amanda Anisimova and Rune on the ropes ...
FINAL: Pegula/Draper (1) 4-2, 4-2 Raducanu/Alcaraz (WC)
Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper are into the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open mixed doubles championship, defeating Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu in straight sets.
A terrific final game ends with a deciding point. Pegula finds her spot on the serve opening up the court for Draper, who unleashes a deep forehand winner to secure the match.
The fan favorite duo of Alcaraz and Raducanu exit the court giving the spectators some dramatic points in the match. Expect Pegula and Draper to be back on court in a little over an hour for their quarterfinal match.
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Follow live from today's U.S. Open mixed doubles action after Jannik Sinner pulled out of event Getty Images Getty Images
Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the U.S. Open mixed doubles, which begins today in New York.
The men's world No. 1 in singles retired after five games of his Cincinnati Open final against Carlos Alcaraz due to illness, and will recover before preparing for the U.S. Open singles.
Sinner was going to partner Kateřina Siniaková, probably the greatest active doubles player on earth, in a compelling alliance of the two tennis disciplines.
Siniaková, an 11-time Grand Slam doubles champion and a gold medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics, is yet to be given a new partner.
The official draw and order of play were updated Tuesday morning, but Sinner and Siniaková's place was occupied by 'Qualifier / Qualifier' as of 9:12 a.m., less than two hours before the start of the event.
GO FURTHER
Jannik Sinner withdraws from U.S. Open mixed doubles after Cincinnati Open final illness
Which duo will win the $1 million prize? Which pairing are you most looking forward to watching? How will the mixed doubles championship impact the singles tournaments?
We would love to hear from you!
Be it a comment, a tennis question, a prediction or something else, we welcome it all.
Email us at: [e-mail] and we'll feature the best of what we get in this live coverage.
So get involved!
In addition to Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium is the other show court at the U.S. Open during the mixed doubles event.
Fun fact: the stadium, named after the iconic American jazz musician, used to be the main center court before Arthur Ashe was built.
Louis Armstrong, which now boasts a roof in the event of inclement weather, has a capacity of 14,053. No doubt this court will showcase some superbly entertaining mixed doubles matches.
The most famous of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center's three stadiums is Arthur Ashe Stadium, also named after an American tennis great.
It's the biggest tennis stadium in the world, seating 23,771 at full capacity, and has hosted numerous iconic moments through the years.
What will the venerated show court have in store for us in 2025?
One of the guiding forces for thinking and writing about ESPN is to always remember that the 'E' stands for entertainment, and entertainment is what makes this week's mixed doubles competition at the U.S. Open a perfect appetizer for the American sports network.
The draw is oozing with boldfaced names and singles stars, a head-spinning thought as recently as a couple of years ago.
Traditionalists might balk at the format changes, with sets played to four games instead of six; full-time doubles players and former greats have already criticized the USTA for devaluing a Grand Slam trophy.
But here is the reality from the broadcaster perspective: this is a television show.
It is a mixed doubles tournament slated to pair Emma Raducanu with Carlos Alcaraz; Iga Świątek with Casper Ruud and Venus Williams with Reilly Opelka. One with a $1 million prize for the winning team and all the makings of great television.
One where men's singles world No. 1 Jannik Sinner will play with Kateřina Siniaková, one of the best doubles players in the world.
GO FURTHER
ESPN embraces U.S. Open mixed doubles with interviews between sets and new technology
While there is excitement for this revamped version of mixed doubles at the U.S. Open, there is also a fair amount of skepticism. Here are your views on the event:
💬 Tony T: 'The Majors should protect the integrity of the sport. Nothing wrong with this format, but it shouldn't be at the U.S. Open.'
💬 Alan R: 'Another attempt to make tennis more promotable and less traditional. Not an advancement for the game.'
💬 Thomas F: 'I couldn't understand why all these big name stars were slated to play mixed doubles. Now I get it. It's an exhibition. Sets to 4, give me a break.'
💬 Anonymous: 'The mixed doubles is nothing more than a glorified exhibition. Ridiculous scheduling with first matches less than 24 hours after Cincinnati finals. No surprise if one or more of the finalists pull out.'
💬 Paul K: 'The Cincinnati finals then this doubles thing starts a day after flying into New York? What are these players: carefully conditioned and managed top athletes or circus animals to entertain us? Good idea 'til it's not.'
💬 Khsu59: 'I'm all for it and plan to watch. Mixed doubles historically has been a total non-event, even ignored by tennis nerds. I mean Sock and Oudin won when they played together as teenagers. It will be fun to watch some of the top players in a less pressured competition.'
This may be the first year in a new format for mixed doubles at the U.S. Open, but the event itself has a long history in New York. Here are the past 10 U.S. Open mixed doubles winners — all under the traditional format for the tournament: 2024: Sara Errani / Andrea Vavassori
/ 2023: Anna Danilina / Harri Heliövaara
/ 2022: Storm Sanders / John Peers
/ 2021: Desirae Krawczyk / Joe Salisbury
/ 2020: Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic
2019: Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Jamie Murray
/ 2018: Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Jamie Murray
/ 2017: Martina Hingis / Jamie Murray
/ 2016: Laura Siegemund / Mate Pavić
/ 2015: Martina Hingis / Leander Paes
The iconic complex on the north end of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in the New York City borough of Queens is the crown jewel of American tennis venues.
USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center contains 22 hard courts, including three stadiums. Those courts are open to the public year-round — except when the U.S. Open is underway. The venue also sits near several other sports and cultural hubs in Queens including Citi Field, home of Major League Baseball's New York Mets.
The center is directly operated by the United States Tennis Association and has hosted the U.S. Open every year since opening in 1978.
In 2006, the venue was renamed from the USTA National Tennis Center in order to honor U.S. tennis legend Billie Jean King, who's often among the luminaries on the grounds to watch the action at every U.S. Open.
Here is today's order of play for the first two rounds of mixed doubles action at the U.S. Open.
As a reminder that excluding the final, all matches will be best of three sets — and you can find the full format for matches here or with a quick scroll down.
Here is the full draw for the mixed doubles championship at the U.S. Open, with the first two rounds taking place today.
While the skepticism surrounding this event is understandable to an extent, this condensed tournament format should provide strong entertainment value and high quality tennis.
While being the last duo standing and overcoming this overwhelmingly talented field is a prize in of itself, the victorious doubles team will also receive a $1 million prize.
A little financial incentive never hurts...
All matches prior to the final will be best of three sets, with short sets to just four games.
There will be no-ad scoring — so effectively it's next point wins whenever a game reaches deuce — as well as a tiebreak if a set reaches 4-4. Then if a third set is necessary, it will take place in the form of a 10-point match tiebreak.
The final will be best of three sets to six games, again featuring no-ad scoring, with tiebreaks at 6-6 and a 10-point match tiebreak in lieu of a third set.
Good news for tennis fans: Iga Świątek, one of the best players in the world, will be at the U.S. Open.
She said on Instagram late yesterday evening after winning the Cincinnati Open: 'Oh my God, what a tournament...
'Super proud and happy. Now I'm just trying to make it to my flight so we can see each other at the U.S. Open tomorrow (Tuesday).
'I'll try to reflect later.'
She will hope to recover from her exertions both physical and mental in Ohio, before competing here in Queens.
Late last week Emma Navarro, Paula Badosa and Tommy Paul all withdrew from the U.S. Open mixed doubles championship — leaving Jannik Sinner, Jack Draper and Jessica Pegula briefly without a playing partner.
Pegula and Draper pivoted by pairing together, while Sinner is now set to play alongside doubles specialist Kateřina Siniaková.
Here is the star-studded list of participants for the U.S. Open mixed doubles draw, as it currently stands (and don't be surprised if there are some more withdrawals throughout the course of this morning):
DIRECT ENTRANTS Jessica Pegula / Jack Draper
Iga Świątek / Casper Ruud
Elena Rybakina / Taylor Fritz
Amanda Anisimova / Holger Rune
Belinda Bencic / Alexander Zverev
Mirra Andreeva / Daniil Medvedev
Madison Keys / Frances Tiafoe
Karolina Muchová / Andrey Rublev
WILD CARDS Olga Danilović / Novak Djokovic
Emma Raducanu / Carlos Alcaraz
Kateřina Siniaková / Jannik Sinner
Taylor Townsend / Ben Shelton
Venus Williams / Reilly Opelka
Sara Errani / Andrea Vavassori
Naomi Osaka / Gael Monfils
Lorenzo Musetti / Caty McNally
You can watch the first two rounds of the U.S. Open mixed doubles championship starting today at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN2 and from 1 p.m. ET on ESPNEWS.
The action will also stream on ESPN+.
The first two rounds of the U.S. Open mixed doubles championship will be played today, beginning at 11 a.m. ET.
Looking ahead, the semifinals and final will be played on Wednesday, starting at 7 p.m. ET.
Hello tennis fans and welcome to our live coverage of the much-anticipated, somewhat scrutinized mixed doubles championship at the U.S. Open.
Over the next two days, we'll get to witness many of the biggest names in the sport team up to compete for the $1 million prize and of course, a bit of bragging rights.
This revamped, two-day championship will set the stage for what should be an exhilarating two weeks of late summer tennis at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
From first serve to final point, you will not want to miss a moment. Luckily, The Athletic has you covered with play-by-play coverage, live updates, analysis, reaction and more — so stay tuned!
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