WIMBLEDON champions Sem Verbeek and Katerina Siniakova have slammed changes to the US Open mixed doubles – branding them “a shame“.
It was announced in February that the Flushing Meadows event would be undergoing a number of changes to attract more high-profile singles players to compete in doubles.
This included mixed doubles happening in the week before the tournament in “fan week” and not at the same time as the singles, meaning it will be spread over three weeks, unlike the three other Grand Slams.
The tournament is also introducing a $1million (£804,000) prize for the mixed doubles champions, in a hope to get bigger names to participate.
However the move hasn’t gone down with new Wimbledon mixed double champions Verbeek and Siniakova.
They are amongst the large number of mixed doubles pairs who will miss out on playing together in New York as a result of the changes.
Verbeek, who recorded a 7-6 7-6 win with Siniakova over Britain’s Joe Salisbury and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani in the final on Thursday, told BBC Sport: “As two athletes that would love to play it, it’s a shame to obviously know that we can’t.
“I’m not going to actively root against it for it not to be a success. The positive I can think of is that there’s going to be more people that can see the top single stars earlier in the tournament when they are maybe a bit more accessible to the public.
“But as a doubles athlete, my heart is bleeding.”
Australian Open 2025 doubles winner Siniakova has also criticised the decision.
She said: “It’s a shame they decided to do it.
“I think it’s a marketing step, but they are taking [away the] chance of doubles players.”
The US Open’s mixed doubles competition will run from August 19 to August 20, with nine of the world’s top 10 women and nine of the world’s top 10 men involved.
Early round matches will be best-of-three sets played to just four games, with a deciding point played at deuce.
Only the final will feature a traditional best-of-three sets played to six games, as is usually the case in a Grand Slam.
Carlos Alcaraz, who is competing in Friday’s Wimbledon semi-final against Taylor Fritz, has teamed up with British No1 Emma Raducanu for the event already.
Meanwhile, 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic – who was thanked by Queen consort Camilla at Wimbledon – is partnering up with fellow Serbian Olga Danilovic.
Speaking back in February, CEO of the US Tennis Association, Lew Sherr, said he believed the changes will benefit the US Open.
After the adjustments were announced, he said: “The reason behind this is to appeal to more fans and grow the fanbase around the world.
“But the way to do that is to have the biggest names in the sport participating in doubles, and to showcase them teaming up and playing in a different format, we think is exciting.
“In fact, we know it’s exciting.”
Other tennis stars have welcomed the restructure, too.
American world singles No3 Jessica Pegula said earlier this year: “As a player who enjoys competing in doubles, I’m excited for the opportunity to play the US Open mixed doubles championship during the first week.
“I appreciate the importance of innovation and exploring new ways to engage more fans and grow our sport.”
Read the full article here
