NEW YORK (Reuters) -The U.S. Open's experiment to bring a bigger spotlight to the mixed doubles kicks off on Tuesday, as the competition gets its own place on the calendar and organisers lure in fans with partnerships made up of top singles players.
Beloved by diehard fans but often lost in a schedule which is dominated by singles action, this year's mixed doubles begins five days before the main draw with a sellout crowd expected at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Past U.S. Open singles champions Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz will play together while six-times Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek joins forces with 2022 finalist Casper Ruud, in a star-studded lineup that fans scarcely could have imagined before.
The format was overhauled to feature 16 teams - half as many as competed a year ago - with eight entries based on combined singles rankings of players and eight wildcards.
The fan response has been positive, and prices for a pair of courtside seats at Wednesday's semis and final were listed for upwards of $500 on the secondary ticket platform StubHub as of Monday.
"While not everyone loves change, I think we've mostly seen that fans are really excited to see these top singles' players compete together," Eric Butorac, the tournament's senior director for player relations and business development, told Reuters.
Organisers were inspired to pursue the new format after watching retired greats Serena Williams and Andy Murray play together in the mixed doubles at Wimbledon in 2019, a dream pairing that got the attention of fans and the media.
Other sports have gotten the message, too: Golf, athletics and swimming added mixed events to their Olympic agenda while the addition of WNBA sharpshooter Sabrina Ionescu to the NBA 3-Point Challenge last year led to a surge of TV viewership.
"'How do we make this happen at the U.S. Open?' It was that question that sort of started us all thinking of... the reasons why the top players don't play, but how can we make it happen," said Butorac.
A massive increase in prize money for the winners, up to $1,000,000 from $200,000 a year ago, sweetened the deal, while the standalone place on the calendar in the week before the main draw meant players could more easily participate.
"When the singles players are playing mixed doubles, it's a great thing for fans," Swiatek told the Tennis Channel.
MIXED DOUBLES, MIXED REACTION
The plan has also attracted plenty of critics, including veteran doubles players and Italian reigning champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, who earned wildcard entry and had called the format a "profound injustice."
Doubles Olympic champion Katerina Siniakova questioned why top doubles players would need a wildcard entry.
"A lot of (the critics) are people that I played with on tour so they all have my phone number and were not afraid to call," said Butorac, a retired doubles specialist.
Organisers took the total $680,000 in prize money offered in the mixed doubles a year ago and added it to the men's and women's doubles, on top of already scheduled increases in prize money, to keep doubles' players' earning potential up.
"When we had those conversations with the doubles players, I don't think any of them necessarily liked the decision, but I think a lot of them understood that from a broader fan perspective, this is something that we really want to try," said Butorac.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
