We’re now just days away from the beginning of the mixed doubles event in New York.
The US Open controversially overhauled its mixed doubles tournament ahead of this year’s event, reducing the number of teams from 32 to 16.
Qualification for eight of those 16 spots is decided by the combined singles rankings of the two players.
Tournament organizers will fill the remaining eight places by awarding wild cards to teams that won’t qualify via their ranking.
However, after the US Open had originally announced the line-ups for the tournament, they’ve now had to shuffle things around once more, as three big names have withdrawn from the event.
Tommy Paul, Emma Navarro, and Paula Badosa all withdraw from US Open mixed doubles
A statement released by the US Open on Friday evening revealed that three players have withdrawn from the mixed doubles tournament.
Tommy Paul, Emma Navarro, and Paula Badosa will all skip the event, having originally been partnered with Jessica Pegula, Jannik Sinner, and Jack Draper, respectively.
Pegula and Draper will join forces as a result of the withdrawals, while Sinner has until 2 pm on Sunday, August 17, to find a replacement.
As a result of the changes, the following teams are set to compete at Flushing Meadows next week.
| Team | ATP Player | WTA Player | Status |
| 1 | Jack Draper | Jessica Pegula | Qualified via direct entry |
| 2 | Casper Ruud | Iga Swiatek | Qualified via direct entry |
| 3 | Taylor Fritz | Elena Rybakina | Qualified via direct entry |
| 4 | Holger Rune | Amanda Anisimova | Qualified via direct entry |
| 5 | Alexander Zverev | Belinda Bencic | Qualified via direct entry |
| 6 | Daniil Medvedev | Mirra Andreeva | Qualified via direct entry |
| 7 | Lorenzo Musetti | Jasmine Paolini | Qualified via direct entry |
| 8 | Frances Tiafoe | Madison Keys | Awarded wild card |
| 9 | Novak Djokovic | Olga Danilovic | Awarded a wild card |
| 10 | Carlos Alcaraz | Emma Raducanu | Awarded a wild card |
| 11 | Ben Shelton | Taylor Townsend | Awarded a wild card |
| 12 | Reilly Opelka | Venus Williams | Awarded a wild card |
| 13 | Andrea Vavassori | Sara Errani | Awarded a wild card |
Assuming Sinner can find himself a top-ranked partner, with whom he would qualify via direct entry, the US Open will still have two wild cards to hand out.
Plenty of teams put their names forward to compete in New York, so tournament organizers certainly have some good options to pick from.
Who should the US Open give the last two wild cards to?
At least nine teams are waiting in the wings, having submitted their entries to the tournament earlier this summer.
- 1. Alex de Minaur/Katie Boulter
- 2. Andrey Rublev/Karolina Muchova
- 3. Nick Kyrgios/Naomi Osaka
- 4. Jenson Brooksby/Iva Jovic
- 5. Felix Auger-Aliassime/Gabriela Dabrowski
- 6. Tallon Griekspoor/Demi Schuurs
- 7. Marcelo Arevalo/Katerina Siniakova
- 8. Evan King/Desirae Krawczyk
- 9. Jan Zielinski/Hiseh Su-Wei
It seems likely that Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter will be given a wild card, considering the husband and wife-to-be have consistently campaigned for a spot in the tournament.
“Katie [Boulter] and I would like to ask for a wild card, pretty please,” he said on X recently.
The second spot is trickier to fill, as several teams are worthy of a place in the draw.
In terms of name-value, it’s hard to look past the duo of Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios, although some have suggested the question marks surrounding the Aussie’s fitness have put organizers off awarding them a wild card.
Andrey Rublev and Karolina Muchova would also be great additions, as both players entertain fans whenever they step onto the court.
On the other hand, the US Open may choose to invite the former world number one doubles pairing of Marcelo Arevalo and Katerina Siniakova to the competition.
In doing so, organizers would quieten down some critics, who have claimed the new event has forgotten about full-time doubles players.
The US Open has a big decision to make, as does Sinner, who must now find a replacement for Navarro.
Jannik Sinner’s perfect US Open mixed doubles replacement
With the majority of the world’s top ten set to compete at the new mixed doubles event, it would be a shame to see the ATP world number one and the WTA world number two miss out.
American star Coco Gauff decided against joining the field originally, but was surely a player in high demand.
If she were to receive a message from Sinner over the next few days, who knows whether she would say yes to a last-minute call-up.
We’ll have to wait and see who will complete the 16-team line-up, but you won’t want to miss any of the action when the tournament begins on Tuesday, August 19.
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