Venus Williams receives a wild-card entry to play mixed doubles at US Open
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The 45-year-old Williams, who returned to the tennis tour last week after more than a year away, and Opelka were among the 14 teams announced Tuesday by the U.S. Tennis Association for its mixed doubles event on Aug. 19-20.
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Eight of the pairings received direct entry into the field based on having the highest combined current singles rankings, and six were given wild cards by the USTA.
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The players with spots in the bracket include nine who have won at least one Grand Slam singles title and 14 who are ranked in the WTA or ATP top 10 for singles.
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The eight duos with direct entry are No. 11 Emma Navarro and No. 1 Jannik Sinner; No. 10 Paula Badosa and No. 5 Jack Draper; No. 3 Iga Swiatek and No. 13 Casper Ruud; No. 12 Elena Rybakina and No. 4 Taylor Fritz; No. 7 Amanda Anisimova and No. 9 Holger Rune; Belinda Bencic and No. 3 Alexander Zverev; No. 4 Jessica Pegula and No. 15 Tommy Paul; No. 5 Mirra Andreeva and No. 14 Daniil Medvedev.
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Badosa originally had sought a place in the field with Stefanos Tsitsipas, while Draper initially was going to play alongside Zheng Qinwen.
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In addition to Williams-Opelka, the wild-card entrants are Emma Raducanu and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz; No. 8 Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe; Olga Danilovic and No. 6 Novak Djokovic; Taylor Townsend and No. 7 Ben Shelton; and last year's U.S. Open mixed doubles champions, Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori.
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A total of 16 duos will be competing for the $1 million top prize; the last two wild-card pairs will be known at a later date.
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It is still possible that Williams will ask for, and receive, a wild-card entry for singles. Those are expected to be announced by the USTA the week of Aug. 11.
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Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. 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