Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper ahead of a practice session at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper will be on opposite sides of the court during the new mixed doubles event
The US Open is breaking with tradition this year by holding its mixed doubles event during the first week of the three-week tournament – often known as ‘Fan Week’. This change aims to attract top singles players by offering a shortened, two-day event with a $1m (£750,000) prize for the winning team.
Emma Raducanu has teamed up with Carlos Alcaraz. They have been drawn against Jack Draper, the British No 1, who is playing alongside Jessica Pegula. The first two rounds will take place on August 19, and the semi-finals and final will be played on August 20.
The regular singles and doubles tournament starts on August 24.
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British No 1s Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu will face each other in the first round of the revamped US Open mixed doubles.
Draper will play with American Jessica Pegula after their original partners, Paula Badosa and Tommy Paul respectively, both withdrew.
With both Draper and Pegula inside the top five in the singles rankings, the pair have been handed the top seeding and will kick-off their campaign against the wild card pair of Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz.
Raducanu and Alcaraz – who can expect to be given a portmanteau nickname of either “Alcaranu” or “Raducaraz” – are the main eye-catchers heading into the new-look mixed doubles competition, having set out their stall early when revealing their plans to join forces earlier this year.
Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz
Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz are set to team up in the mixed doubles
The event will consist of best-of-three-set matches, with teams only needing to win four game to win a set (rather than the usual six). There will be no-advantage in games that reach a score of deuce (40-all), meaning that the winner of the next point wins the game.
If the teams are level on four games apiece, the set will be decided on a tie-break. If the teams are level on one set apiece, a 10-point match tie-break will be played instead of a third set. The first team to earn 10 points in the tie-break, with an advantage of two or more points, will win the match. The final will be a best-of-three-sets match, with sets maxing out at six games.
The move to change the format was described by defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori as a “profound injustice” to doubles players, and Pegula, who is part of the WTA Player Council, said more communication was needed between organisers and players.
“I’m honoured that they asked me to play. It’s going to be great, it’s going to be fun and the fans will really enjoy it,” Pegula told reporters at the Cincinnati Open.
“At the same time, how they went about it, I didn’t think was really great ... We were like, Okay, you guys went rogue and changed the format and didn’t tell anybody. You just did it.
“Did you talk to the players? Did you get their input about how it could be better? That’s something that we as players are trying to work with them on, having that line of communication be a lot smoother. I feel like maybe if there was feedback about the format, then the [reaction] would be a little different, not so all over the place.”
Sky Sports has the broadcasting rights to show the US Open, including the new mixed doubles, live from Flushing Meadows.
Gigi Salmon is presenting the coverage alongside Tim Henman, Laura Robson, Martina Navratilova, Marion Bartoli, Karthi Gnanasegaram, Feliciano López, Naomi Cavaday and Jonathan Overend.
How to watch the US Open on TV in the US
ESPN has the broadcasting rights for the tournament for the 17th consecutive year. Its networks will showcase first-to-last-ball coverage, covering 170+ hours via ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC.
When does the US Open start?
After the mixed doubles event on August 18 and 19, the singles draw will begin on Sunday, August 24. The tournament follows the Australian and French Open in becoming a 15-day competition. It means the men’s and women’s singles first rounds play out over the opening three days.
When is the US Open draw?
The singles draw will be announced on Thursday, August 21.
Where is the US Open held?
The home of the tournament is the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York.
Taylor Fritz in action during last year's final on Arthur Ashe Stadium - the US Open's showcase court
Taylor Fritz in action during last year’s final in Arthur Ashe Stadium - the US Open’s showcase court
You can buy tickets here. Some of the hottest tickets are likely to be for matches involving two-times champion Venus Williams, who has been handed a wild card into the tournament at the age of 45. The seven-time major winner made a comeback earlier this summer after more than a year out of the sport. She will become the oldest singles player to compete at Flushing Meadows since Renee Richards, aged 47 in 1981.
American tennis chiefs shocked the sport by announcing a 20 per cent increase in prize money. Despite a concerted campaign from leading players to squeeze more money out of the biggest tournaments, few had expected such a dramatic step-change.
The United States Tennis Association has created a total prize pot of $90m (£67m). The champions of the men’s and women’s singles event will each receive a hefty $5m, or £3.75m.
Such large sums threaten to make Wimbledon look underpowered. The most recent prize pot at SW19 stood at £53,500,000. The All England Club seemed satisfied with this figure, which represented a seven per cent increase on 2024’s sums. But they now find themselves fully 25 per cent behind their transatlantic rivals.
Men’s and women’s singles
Winners: $5m
Runners-up: $2.5m
Semi-finalists: $1.26m
Quarter-finalists: $660,000
Fourth round: $400,000
Third round: $237,000
Second round: $154,000
First round: $110,000
Men’s and women’s doubles
Winners: $1m
Runners-up: $500,000
Semi-finalists: $250,000
Quarter-finalists: $125,000
Third round: $75,000
Second round: $45,000
First round: $30,000
Mixed doubles
Winners: $1m
Runners-up: $400,000
Semi-finalists: $200,000
Quarter-finalists: $100,000
First round: $20,000
The women’s final takes place on Saturday, September 6, and the men’s final the following day.
Men’s singles
Qualified automatically
Jack Draper
Cameron Norrie
Jacob Fearnley
Qualifying tournament
TBC
Women’s singles
Qualified automatically
Emma Raducanu
Katie Boulter
Sonay Kartal
Qualifying tournament
TBC
Who are the defending champions?
Jannik Sinner was too strong for Taylor Fritz in last year’s final, winning 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.
In the women’s showpiece, Aryna Sabalenka kept her nerve to defeat Jessica Pegula 7-5, 7-5.
Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka celebrates with the trophy
Aryna Sabalenka will be back in New York to defend her title
Men’s title
Jannik Sinner 11/10
Carlos Alcaraz 2/1
Novak Djokovic 14/1
Jack Draper 20/1
Women’s title
Aryna Sabalenka 11/4
Iga Swiatek 7/2
Coco Gauff 13/2
Mirra Andreeva 10/1