US Open Mixed Doubles Overhaul Sparks Backlash Over Job Losses for Specialists
Per the Daily Express, the US Open mixed doubles has been restructured into a 16-team event with fast-four scoring — and former professional Andrew Castle is calling the format out as an exhibition.
The draw, staged across two days during Fan Week, shrinks the field from a full Grand Slam complement and adds a one-day qualifying round that feeds two teams into the main draw. For Castle, the math is simple: fewer matches, shorter sets, and a lane that favours singles stars over the doubles specialists who depend on these slots.
A compressed surface, fewer lanes
The tournament moved into Fan Week in 2025, with organisers cutting the draw to 16 teams and introducing fast-four scoring through the final. For 2026, a one-day qualifying round using doubles rankings sends two more pairs into the main draw. The structural shift narrows the competitive surface area. Castle frames it plainly: "It's a shame for mixed doubles, like the proper players, because this is, for me, an exhibition. It's a one-week filler."
Castle's read on the calendar
Castle, a former British player and ex-BBC Wimbledon commentator, sees the event less as a discipline and more as a commercial extension of the Slam. He told Betway the mixed doubles functions as a way to "extend the revenue raising into a third week for a two-week Grand Slam," sitting alongside expanded qualifying windows and side events like Australia's one-point challenge. "The mixed doubles is filling that role," he said — meaning fewer jobs for doubles specialists whose livelihoods depend on these draw slots.
Who's actually on court
The headline names come from singles. Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic are entered, with Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud returning as last year's runners-up. The qualifying draw is where the doubles specialists cluster — WTA and ATP No. 1s Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten lead that group, joined by Gabriela Dabrowski and Harri Heliovaara, plus Luisa Stefani and Neal Skupski. The specialists get a single qualifying day. The stars get the spotlight.
The qualifying rounds run ahead of the main event, with the tournament tipping off next week. Whether the format produces credible championship tennis or remains an exhibition in branding alone will come down to how the late rounds play out — and whether doubles specialists can carve out a competitive lane within it.
