This year’s US Open action will begin today with the all-new Mixed Doubles event, which will see some of the best singles players in the world go head-to-head for a $1 million prize.
With the draw finally set and action officially underway, let’s take a look at the new US Open Mixed Doubles format.
New Mixed Doubles Format Explained
Instead of the typical scoring system tennis fans are familiar with, the new mixed doubles event will see teams compete in a best-of-three set match with each team trying to reach four games within a set rather than the typical seven.
Tiebreaks are still in effect; however, the new mixed doubles format is doing away with ad scoring, meaning that a game that goes to deuce (40-40) will see the winner of the next point win the game.
While Grand Slam third-set tiebreaks now go to ten points, in the new mixed doubles event, if teams split the first two sets, the third set will simply be a 10-point win-by-two tiebreak rather than a full third set.
The two teams that reach the final will then play a best-of-three match, with teams looking to win six games per set instead of four, with the no-ad scoring, and a 10-point match tiebreak in the third still in effect.
US Open Mixed Doubles Schedule
Mixed Doubles action at the US Open will begin today, with action split between Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium. Action will then conclude tomorrow, with one team winning the $1 million prize.
Note: All start times are estimated following the first match of the day.
Aug 19. – Arthur Ashe Stadium
- Naomi Osaka/Gael Monfils vs. Caty McNally/Lorenzo Musetti (11 a.m. ET)
- Iga Swiatek/Casper Ruud vs. Madison Keys/Frances Tiafoe (Noon ET)
- Jessica Pegula/Jack Draper vs. Emma Raducanu/Carlos Alcaraz (2 p.m. ET)
- Olga Danilovic/Novak Djokovic vs. Mirra Andreeva/Daniil Medvedev (3:30 p.m. ET)
Aug 19. – Louis Armstrong Stadium
- Elena Rybakina/Taylor Fritz vs. Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori (11 a.m. ET)
- Venus Williams/Reilly Opelka vs. Karolina Muchova/Andrey Rublev (12:30 p.m. ET)
- Taylor Townsend/Ben Shelton vs. Amanda Anisimova/Holger Rune (1:30 p.m. ET)
- Danielle Collins/Christian Harrison vs. Belinda Bencic/Alexander Zverev (3 p.m. ET)
The prize breakdown for the event is as follows:
- First round: $20,000
- Quarterfinals: $100,000
- Semifinals: $200,000
- Runner-up: $400,000
- Champion: $1 million
How to Watch New Mixed Doubles Event
While typically Tennis Channel airs all the action from both the ATP and WTA tours, ESPN is the exclusive homes of the US Open.
Because of that, fans can tune in via ESPN+ to catch all of the new US Open Mixed Doubles action, which will allow users to select what individual match they want to watch throughout the entirety of the tournament in addition to the main ESPN broadcast.
Additionally, ESPN2 and ESPN News will be splitting up coverage of the new mixed doubles event.
Tuesday’s US Open Mixed Doubles action will air on ESPN2 until 1 p.m. ET today, and then switch to ESPN News.
Wednesday’s action will then air exclusively on ESPN2
ESPN+ plans start at $11.99/month per ESPN.com however, ESPN also has bundles for users interested in packaging together subscriptions to Disney+ and Hulu.
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