Why US Open's mixed doubles revamp has left the tennis world angry and fuming: All you need to know about the controversial format

The US Open, the last of the year's Grand Slams, will get underway in New York in August. It is probably the most prestigious tournament played on hard courts in the world, but its proposed mixed doubles format has stirred a major controversy.

The Grand Slams have stayed clear of experimenting with the format of matches so far. However, with the proposed changes in mixed doubles, the US Open organizers seem to have taken a big step in that direction.

US Open mixed doubles to have a new format:

There will be 16 teams playing in the mixed doubles competition at US Open, with eight of them getting direct entry to it based upon combined singles rankings.

Moreover, the matches will be in the best-of-three format to four games with no advantage point and a 10-point tie-break instead of the third set. The final will have the same format, only with a player requiring to win at least six games in a set instead of four to win it. This means that the games will end sooner, which, along with the absence of a proper third set, will curtail the length of the match.

This is being seen as an attempt to shorten the duration of matches and also add a bit of excitement to them. However, most people in the tennis fraternity have not accepted this proposed revamp gladly.

Jan Zielinski, the 2024 Australian Open mixed doubles champion, strongly criticized the US Open organizers in response.

The lack of respect shown to the tradition of Grand Slam touraments is evident and quite naturally, the players have not taken it nicely.

Ellen Perez, a female player from Australia, wrote in X,

Paul McNamee, a former world No. 1 in doubles from Australia, also criticized the USTA for the decision.

The changes were clearly seen as derogatory for the mixed doubles players, as their discipline was deemed to be somewhat less important for such experiments to be carried out on it.

However, all said and done, the decision has already been taken, with little regard to the possible reactions from the tennis world.

The USTA has described the move as one to lure top singles players into playing the mixed doubles competition. Lew Sherr, the executive director and CEO of USTA, said:

"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,"

Irrespective of the reactions, the USTA has taken a revolutionary step towards popularizing the doubles format in Grand Slams. It remains to be seen whether the other tournaments follow suit in this regard.