US Open mixed doubles champions slam ‘profoundly wrong' format changes
The US Open's revamped mixed doubles format is a 'profound injustice' that disrespects the players, reigning champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori have said.
On Tuesday, the year's last grand slam announced that the mixed doubles competition, which will offer a $1m winners' prize, is scheduled for 19-20 August – the week before the singles main draw.
The competition's format has been overhauled, with 16 teams participating – half the 32 that competed last year.
The qualification process has also been changed, with eight teams earning direct entry via their combined singles ranking – as opposed to their combined doubles ranking. The other eight teams will be wild-card entries.
The US Open said the changes were made following the success of the 'Mixed Madness' exhibition event held ahead of last year's tournament, which paired up a number of high-profile singles players into teams.
'Making decisions just following the logic of profit is profoundly wrong in some situations,' Italians Errani and Vavassori, who beat Taylor Townsend and Donald Young to lift last year's mixed doubles title, said in a statement on Tuesday.
'In the last few weeks we received the news that the US Open mixed doubles tournament will be completely turned upside down, cancelled and replaced with a pseudo-exhibition focused only on entertainment and show.
'We see it as a profound injustice that disrespects an entire category of players. We don't know at the moment if we'll have the chance to defend our title but we hope this remains an isolated case.'
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) said it understood the feedback from doubles players.
'We acknowledge that change is difficult, however overall we believe this reimagined mixed doubles championship will elevate mixed doubles with a bigger spotlight and provide a greater opportunity to inspire more people to play and grow the sport,' it added.
Poland's Jan Zielinski, a mixed doubles winner at last year's Australian Open and Wimbledon, said on Instagram that the decision had been taken without 'any consultation with the players and based strictly on profit'.
Australian Ellen Perez, a former world No 7 in doubles, criticised the format changes in a post on X.
'Tell us that you think doubles players are trash, that tradition is overrated and job opportunity is a thing of the past without actually saying it,' she wrote.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Caitlin Clark's new Wilson basketballs reveal who she is as a person
The colors, the patterns, the detailing -- all are the result of months-long conversations between Clark and Wilson's design team about who she is, what she likes and what messages she wants to send to young fans. "It was a really fun process for me to go through," Clark told USA TODAY Sports. "It's things that are super important to me and all very different things, too, throughout my life. So hopefully they can make an impact on whoever's going to pick the ball up." Clark joined Michael Jordan as the only athletes to be brand ambassadors for Wilson, signing a multiyear sponsorship deal in May 2024 with the official manufacturer of basketballs for the WNBA, NBA and NCAA. In part because of the short turnaround time before the release of her first signature ball last October, Clark's first line leaned heavily into history. The records she broke at Iowa. Her historic rookie season with the WNBA's Indiana Fever. But Clark and Wilson knew they wanted future lines to be more personal, reflecting who Clark is as a person as much as a player. "She's actually influencing this. It's not just people at Wilson picking the design," Hudson Vantrease, director of product design at Wilson, said. "We never wanted to just put her name on a ball and call it a day," he added. "We want to tell the most compelling story, and having her as part of that is a positive to it." Wilson invited USA TODAY Sports to attend the design team meeting in April where Clark saw the finished basketballs for the first time. The design team also gave USA TODAY Sports a behind-the-scenes look at the collaboration process with Clark for the latest collection, which will be released June 23. There are four balls in the collection, and they differ in both purpose (one is an indoor-only ball, one is outdoor-only and two can be used either indoors or outdoors) and price point. One, the Embrace, is an Evo NXT basketball, meaning it has the same construction as a regulation W ball and could be used in official games. "Awesome. Awesome, awesome, awesome," Clark said when she walked into the Indiana Fever's practice gym and saw the four new basketballs. "You guys killed it." The team responsible for developing Clark's line has about a dozen core members. They met with Clark at last year's All-Star Game and got her initial thoughts about the collection, including what a young Caitlin Clark would have wanted. "I think she said a blue ball," said Haley Reines, the product line manager at Wilson. Afterward, Reines and product designer Julia Muscarello sent Clark a detailed questionnaire, asking her everything from her favorite color (blue) to her hobbies outside of basketball (golf, being on the water) to what she'd be if she wasn't a basketball player (chef). They also monitored social media, taking note of Clark's clothes -- there's an Instagram account devoted to her fits -- and what she does off the court. "I don't want to say borderline stalking, but yeah," Muscarello said with a laugh. "I was trying to stay on the Caitlin pulse." Those answers and details drove the design process, which involved "hundreds" of hours. Christopher Rickert, the senior director of global production at Wilson, said the team began with 50 design ideas and whittled them down. Sometimes the color wasn't right. Sometimes the pattern didn't work. Sometimes what seemed like a great idea on paper didn't quite translate into reality. When the team had 10 ideas, they sent the designs to Clark for her thoughts. There were further tweaks, and prototypes were made to make sure the designs looked the same on an actual basketball as they did in drawings. The four designs ultimately chosen for this year's line all have very different looks, but there's a commonality to all of them. Clark. "Whenever I do something, I want to make it the best product possible for people. But also I feel like this is an easy way for me to connect with my fans," Clark said of being so involved in the design process. "I want it to feel very personal for them, too. They can connect with me, not just by watching me on TV or coming and buying a ticket to a game." Take the Oasis ball, which can be used indoors and outdoors. Clark told Reines and Muscarello that her favorite color is blue, she likes pastels and her happy places are the water and golf course. So the panels of the Oasis ball are white and light blue, and the light blue panels have what looks like pink and green splashes of paint but is actually an abstract drawing of a golf course. Clark picked up on it right away when she saw the ball. "That looks like a hole on a golf course!" she exclaimed. Light blue is also the shade used for the pattern on the Envision, an outdoor ball. At first glance, it looks like a maze, but it's really the words "DREAM BIG." That phrase is also on the Aspire, an indoor/outdoor ball that at first appears to be white or grey. Put it in the sunlight, however, and the phrases "Dream Big," "Keep Going" and "You're Going to Be Amazing Because You Are Amazing" emerge in bold, Fever-red letters. That last phrase is what Clark says to Boston before every game. "See, she loves it!" Clark said, pointing to a picture of her and Boston on the bench that was on the design team's planning whiteboard. "We'll get her a free basketball. She'll love it. I'm going to put it in her locker." Because the Embrace is an official basketball, it cannot have any obvious detailing. Look closely, though, and you can see a pattern -- again, light blue -- within the Wilson logo and in what looks like a sunburst around the airhole. Both are the visual representation of the decibel level at a Fever game; the Wilson team took an audio file of the sound and made a graphic out of it. "Fans really admire how she just plays so well under pressure," Muscarello said. "Sometimes it's OK to embrace the noise." Though Clark had been involved in every step of the design process, seeing the basketballs on a computer screen is very different than holding the finished product. Clark picked up each of the basketballs and examined it, taking note of the different details. She spun each ball and shifted it from one hand to the other. She also studied the design team's white boards, pointing to some of the notes and photos. Though she initially seemed most taken by the Oasis ball, she was fascinated with the Envision's UV technology and said she'd have loved to have had a basketball that revealed "secret" messages when she was a kid. She also was impressed that Wilson's design team was able to turn a decibel meter reading into a design. "They're all unique in their own way. They all have different things I love about them," Clark said. "I think they each serve their own purpose and are different. "So I guess you have to buy 'em all!" she added, laughing. While there will be some fans who buy the whole collection, whether to use or keep as memorabilia, Clark was conscious of not pricing any fans out of the new line. Two of the balls are less than $50, with the outdoor Envision ball costing $27.95 and the Oasis indoor ball priced at $49.95, while the Aspire outdoor ball is $54.95. The Embrace, which is Wilson's premium Evo NXT basketball, costs $124.95. All the balls will be available on Wilson's website and at retail sporting goods stores. Last year's collection sold out almost immediately and, given the appetite for all things Clark, it's a good bet this one will, too. "It's kind of cool to see how the balls came back and they feel very `me,'" Clark told USA TODAY Sports. "That's what I love about it. I feel like I'm sharing part of my life and my journey with people. "I could have never dreamed (as a child) to have something like this," she added. "It's pretty special." Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
Powys County Times
8 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Bukayo Saka says toughest injury setback gave him more balanced outlook on life
Bukayo Saka believes the toughest injury setback of his career so far has given him a more balanced outlook on life – and gave him the time to get to know his new cockapoo puppy, Tucker. The Arsenal winger has admitted he initially feared he might never be the same player again after he suffered a hamstring injury against Crystal Palace last December which kept him out of action until April. However, the enforced time away from football's 'conveyor belt' has helped him see the bigger picture, as he prepares to round off the season by playing his first England match since Thomas Tuchel took charge against Senegal on Tuesday night. 'I got to spend more time with my family and got to do more of the little things around the house that I wouldn't have even paid attention to when I was playing,' Saka said. In the zone 💫 — England (@England) June 9, 2025 'On that note it was nice and I've come back with a bit more of a balanced head about football and life, and I'm trying to balance them better. It definitely helped me mentally.' Saka also had a new arrival to keep him occupied. 'I got the dog while I was still playing but I got injured and he came while I was injured,' he said. 'It was a bit tough at first because he's a puppy and I couldn't really get after him. It was a good experience. It was funny. His name is Tucker.' Saka said he also spent time reading, including one especially influential book called 'The Power of Now', written by Eckhart Tolle and given to Saka by Arsenal assistant coach Carlos Cuesta. '(The book is) about not thinking about the past, not thinking about the future. Just being in the moment and always asking yourself 'what's necessary right now?',' he said. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Bukayo Saka (@bukayosaka87) 'Sometimes I can think, 'oh, am I going to come back in the best shape?'. Or, in the past, 'what could I have done to prevent injury?'. 'But all that is not necessary. It's only going to bring bad energy and negativity to your body.' The timing of Saka's injury meant he had to undergo surgery at 5am on Christmas Eve in order to be able to return home in time for Christmas Day. 'It was horrible. It was the day before (Christmas Eve) we had to decide. Normally you get more time to make a decision,' he recalled. 'But where it was going to be Christmas, the surgeons want to be with their families, so I decided on the spot that we were doing the surgery. Then it was deciding what time and was I going to be there on Christmas Day. Obviously, that was the last thing I wanted. 'So I had to do it at 5am or 6am on Christmas Eve. Credit to the surgeon – he got up early to do it. I was out of the hospital at about 3 or 4pm and home. Christmas Day, I went to my cousin's house but I was in a big brace and had crutches.' Asked what his Christmas Day was like, Saka said: 'I had to get my presents brought to me. It doesn't sound like the worst thing! 'When everyone got up to go to the dining room, it took me about 10 minutes to get there. Little things like that. It was very painful to get up and make my way there.'
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Daily Mail
What's going on with Rory McIlroy? How the Northern Irishman has been left searching for the 'missing piece of the puzzle' ahead of the US Open
Amid the agony of missing the cut at the RBC Canadian Open, Rory McIlroy is jumping back on the horse as he looks ahead to another crunch week on the PGA Tour calendar. But the Northern Irishman has a couple of things gnawing at him as he arrives in Pennsylvania for the 2025 US Open at the Oakmont Country Club. On Wednesday, McIlroy appeared to admit that he was struggling for motivation following that fateful day at Augusta National in April. It coincidentally comes as the three-time FedEx Cup champion is currently working his way through a rough patch of form, with his recent performances at Quail Hollow and TPC Toronto proving to be stark in contrast to his dominance at the beginning of the season. 'Of course it concerns me,' McIlroy said after finishing day two at nine-over par. 'You don't want to shoot high scores like the one I did today.' Right now, it is McIlroy's driving that is proving to be the overriding worry, and as he admits, he is 'still searching for the missing piece of [the puzzle] from the tee'. That became evident on the par four fifth hole on Friday. The 36-year-old sprayed his tee shot into the rough on the right of the fairway and then pulled his approach shot left, out of bounds. He would go on to card an eight on his way to his first missed cut since he missed out on playing the weekend at The Open last July. Yes, the 2025 Masters Champion packs a punch with his driver. Yes, he sits second on the PGA Tour for strokes gained off the tee. But finding fairways is something that McIlroy is seriously struggling with and that does not bode well considering the test he'll face this week. Dubbed 'The Beast', the Oakmont Country Club is a course that is infamous among golfers as being one of the toughest in US Open rotation. You'll only have to track back as far as 2016 to when the US Open was last hosted at this venue to remember images of McIlroy hacking his way out of the penal rough that weaves its way around this behemoth of a golf course. He would go on to miss the cut on that occasion too. And as with any US Open week, videos are beginning to emerge on social media of players having their golf balls swallowed up by the deep green grass on this Pennsylvania track which proves an ominous omen for the the playing field this week. 'Obviously going to Oakmont, what you need to do more than anything else there is hit fairways,' McIlroy said on Friday. He added: 'For me, when I get that part of the game clicking, then everything falls into place for me. Right now that isn't. Yeah, that's a concern going into next week.' Finding the middle of the fairway will be crucial at this week's US Open venue, Oakmont, a course which notoriously boasts some of the most penal rough on the tour This weekend, McIlroy struck 42 per cent of fairways at the Canadian Open - a tournament he has won twice previously. He has also slumped to 171st on the PGA Tour for his driving accuracy in 2025, with the Northern Irishman finding the fairways a meagre 49.40 per cent of the time. It is a part of his game that McIlroy has had trouble with this year, noting the Northern Irishman was ranked 50th in the field for his driving accuracy at the Masters, hitting 62.50 per cent of fairways, despite going on to win the Green Jacket. McIlroy was forced into swapping out his TaylorMade Qi10 driver right on the eve of the PGA Championship after his club was found to be non-conforming, with its face being too thin. He'd go on to finish T47 at Quail Hollow. In the interim, McIlroy has been back to the drawing board and returned on Thursday with a 44in driver, hoping that would give him a little more control. But things didn't quite go to plan. 'I was saying to Harry going down the last this is the second time this year I've tried the new version, and it hasn't quite worked out for me. So I'd say I'll be testing quite a few drivers over the weekend,' he explained. McIlroy is not one to shirk in the face of adversity. Over the years, the Northern Irishman has battled issues in his swing, patched up difficulties in his marriage and fronted up to become the face of the PGA Tour in its still ongoing struggle with LIV Golf. That's all while he continues to maintain his status as one of the best golfers in the world. Adversity is something that he's dealt with before, but alongside his driver issues he also appears to be facing a new challenge of reigniting that fire to win after finally ending his long and agonising wait to finally don the Green Jacket. 'I don't know if I'm chasing anything,' he explained last Wednesday. 'I would certainly say that the last few weeks I've had a couple weeks off, and going and grinding on the range for three or four hours every day is maybe a little tougher than it used to be.' McIlroy flew back home to Northern Ireland with his wife Erica and daughter Poppy to spend time with his parents and friends after his win at Augusta. He also stopped off in London to check in on the new home he is building on the way and explained he's also had some time away from the course in recent weeks to savour and celebrate that victory. But the rigours of the PGA Tour have meant he has had to quickly switch back to competing and is finding it tough to get back into the groove after pouring so much emotion and focus into that fateful weekend at Augusta National. 'You have this event in your life that you've worked towards and it happens, sometimes it's hard to find the motivation to get back on the horse and go again.' 'I think the last two weeks have been good for me just as a reset, just to sort of figure out where I'm at in my own head, what I want to do, where I want to play. Yeah, reset some goals.' McIlroy has also faced criticisms in recent weeks over his decision to refuse to speak to the media between rounds - something that PGA Tour players have no obligation to do. While The Golf Channel's Rex Hoggard has claimed that some within the PGA Tour are 'concerned' by McIlroy's recent media snubs, who can blame the Northern Irishman for wanting to skip interviews after a difficult day on the course? But he is interestingly struggling to rekindle motivation to keep winning following his Masters victory McIlroy opted not to appear for some interviews during the PGA Championship, and explained he was 'well within his rights to do so'. He also explained that the decision was partly down to him wanting to avoid questions around his non-conforming driver. 'I've been beating this drum for a long time,' he said. 'If they want to make it mandatory, that's fine, but in our rules it says that it's not, and until the day that that's maybe written into the regulations, you're going to have guys skip from time to time, and that's well within our rights.' As we roll into the third major of the year, McIlroy is once again firmly in the spotlight for several reasons. He is out to claim his second US Open title after winning in 2011, but all eyes will be eager to see what's in his bag, whether he can roll back to his form at the start of the year and showcase that he has rekindled his fire to keep winning in 2025.
