US Open 2026: How scheduling and purse changes lured tennis' biggest stars to mixed doubles event

Across the tennis world, mixed doubles had been considered an afterthought. For years, the US Open had placed it in the third week of the tournament, overshadowed by men’s and women’s singles while the sport’s best players are either still participating in singles or moving on to the next tournament. In 2025, the United States Tennis Association made a scheduling change that singlehandedly revived the competition.

In an effort for the US Open to legitimize what it calls Fan Week, the qualifying week before the main singles and doubles draws begin with free admission for spectators, the USTA moved mixed doubles to the last full week in August when top players were more available and gave the winning team $1 million. The plan was a spectacular success. The tournament drove 78,000 fans to the Open grounds and sold out the nearly 24,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium on both nights, which meant millions in added revenue from concession and merchandise sales. More than 2 million fans visited the Open’s mobile app and website, and its YouTube channel set a single-day record with 12.8 million views, the USTA said.

“We wanted to take the US Open mixed doubles championship and give it the spotlight it deserved,” Brendan McIntyre, the US Open’s head of communications and content, told Yahoo Sports. “The players also embraced it, and the starpower in the field was evidence of that. There was never a doubt that we would be bringing it back for this year.”

To keep the matches shorter and more television friendly — and less taxing for the players preparing for a grueling singles run — the format was a best-of-three sets to four games, with no-ad scoring, tiebreakers at 4-all and a 10-point tiebreak instead of a full third set if it got there. While the top seed pairing of Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper made the semifinals and the third seed of Iga Świątek and Casper Ruud reached the final, it was Italian doubles specialists Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori winning the tournament in a third-set tiebreak and earning $1 million for two days of work.

The 2026 mixed doubles tournament begins with qualifiers on Monday and the main draw on Tuesday and Wednesday, featuring seven of the top 10-ranked women on the WTA tour and six of the top 10-ranked men on the ATP Tour. While there was prior speculation that superstars would boycott the mixed tournament this year if prize money didn’t reflect their value to the sport, the USTA announced a 20% year-over-year prize pool increase for the tournament to $108 million, seemingly allaying any concerns.

As the field for this year’s tournament was taking shape, the biggest splash was made over the weekend when seven-time grand slam champion Carlos Alcaraz not only announced that he’d be participating in the Open, but that he’d be playing mixed doubles with the GOAT herself, Serena Williams, the 23-time grand slam champ.

Let’s gooooo! 🔥 @serenawilliamshttps://t.co/8XErZUMXdi

Here’s who else we’ll be seeing this week in mixed doubles, which will be a star-studded bracket:

• Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic: The defending US Open singles champion makes her US Open mixed doubles debut with the legendary 24-time grand slam champion. The pair are good friends off the court as well, barging into each other’s press conferences and joking around in exhibition matches.

• Świątek and Ruud: After defeating Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe in round one and Pegula and Draper in the semis last year, this Euro duo is running it back as Iga looks for her seventh career grand slam title.

• Pegula and Taylor Fritz: With 2025 partners Draper and Elena Rybakina both injured, this all-American pair are poised to be fan favorites. Fritz is in good form after winning the ATP 500 last month in Washington, D.C.

• Amanda Anisimova and Learner Tien: The 24-year-old 2025 US Open finalist teams up with Tien, the 20-year-old who shot up in the ATP rankings from 50th last year to 12th today. This American team is on the rise.

• Errani and Vavassori: The defending champions are back but are no longer sneaking up on anyone. And they’re joined by six other doubles specialist teams who will play on Monday for two spots in the main 16-team draw, along with an intriguing wild-card duo in Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev.

• Alex Eala and Felix Auger-Aliassime: The 21-year-old native of the Philippines has taken the WTA tour by storm, jumping from 50th to 20th in the rankings this year following her championship in D.C. She joins the 26-year-old Canadian, who reached the US Open semis last year and has shot up to fourth in the current ATP rankings.

• Leylah Fernandez and Tiafoe: Two fan favorites who both happen to wear Lululemon on the court team up. Tiafoe enters Flushing Meadows in strong form after reaching the finals this week in Cincinnati.

• Taylor Townsend and Alexander Zverev: A dark horse team, Townsend is ranked second this year in doubles, winning a slam this year at Roland Garros, while Zverev is ranked third in singles, having finally won his first career slam in Paris before losing in the Wimbledon final.

• Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils: Husband and wife will compete together in an emotional tournament for both, as Monfils plays in his final grand slam tournament before his retirement after this season.

• Emma Navarro and Tommy Paul: Both had previously been ranked in the top 10 but have each slipped into the 20s, with this year’s Open the chance for them to reverse their fortunes and regain top form.

ESPN and other international rightsholders will be broadcasting the tournament in its entirety. Qualifying rounds on Monday and the first two rounds on Tuesday will be free for fans via the US Open fan access pass, which you can register for at USOpen.org. Tickets to the semis and finals and other showcase matches at Arthur Ashe started as low as $30, but the get-in price for Tuesday is now $76 and $166 for Wednesday on the GameTime app. 

“Our goal is to elevate our sport and to give as many fans as possible the opportunity to experience the excitement, both in person and across broadcast,” McIntyre said. “We’re most excited that our fans across the globe will have the opportunity to take in the action.”

While the singles tournament at the Open doesn’t begin until Aug. 30, the USTA has transformed the week before the main draw from an overlooked sideshow to a must-see event that’s proven more than worthwhile for both players and fans alike.