Top tennis players target U.S. Open’s star-studded mixed doubles event in prize money push - The Athletic
Top tennis players are calling the USTA's bluff — and the U.S. Open's shiny new mixed doubles event is the leverage point.
According to The Athletic, a coalition of top-20 stars is pushing for a guaranteed slice of tournament revenue, not just a fatter check, with the star-studded doubles spectacle serving as the muscle.
The Staredown
I know a high-stakes standoff when I see one. This has every marker of a power play from athletes who've stopped undervaluing themselves.
- On July 4 in London, Jessica Pegula sat down with USTA chairman Brian Vahaly and incoming tournament director Eric Butorac
- The player coalition includes Pegula, Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, Ben Shelton, and Elena Rybakina
- Core demand: a guaranteed share of total tournament revenues — not a one-off bump
- The holdup: organizers have not committed to any revenue-sharing formula
- The threat: a partial boycott of the mixed doubles tournament and the charity exhibitions during Fan Week
- The pressure point: the USTA has already sold thousands of high-priced tickets to mixed doubles
The Heavyweight Enters
When the world No. 1 leans in, the room listens. Jannik Sinner is weighing skipping mixed doubles under the current setup. Other top players are ready to line up behind him. That signal has reached Vahaly, Butorac, and the brand-new boss in the building.
- Craig Tiley officially started as USTA CEO on Monday
- He built his rep at Tennis Australia as one of the sport's most player-friendly executives
- But last year he declined to engage with the top players on the revenue sharing question
- His tenure announcement made zero reference to the dispute
What I'm Watching
The USTA has not released its initial entry list yet. Last year's winners — Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani of Italy — still hold the title on paper. Sinner skipped last year after retiring from the Cincinnati Open final due to illness; he'd been lined up to partner with Kateřina Siniaková, the world No. 1 in women's doubles.
Both sides walked away from the July meeting feeling progress was made. The USTA clearly didn't move enough. The silence is the tell. Until Tiley breaks it, the boycott threat stays live — and the mixed doubles event stays the hostage worth fighting over.
