Alex de Minaur has revealed he and fiancee Katie Boulter are planning to play the new-look mixed doubles event at the US Open in September, after officials drew backlash with a controversial change. The mixed event has been completely revamped for the New York grand slam, and will now take place in the week before the singles tournament kicks off.
It means the grand slam will now be a three-week event, with organisers touting the change as a way to get mixed doubles players more exposure. There’s now AU$1.6 million on offer for the winners, with early-round matches to be best-of-three sets played to just four games, with a deciding point played at deuce.
Tiebreakers will be played at 4-4 instead of 6-6, while a first-to-10-points match tiebreaker will be played if the teams split sets, rather than a deciding third set. But usual scoring will take place in the final, reverting back to normal playing conditions.
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Only 16 teams will feature (down from the usual 32) – with eight to be granted wildcards and the other eight determined by the top player in each team’s singles ranking. It means the top singles players might be tempted to enter because it won’t clash with their individual pursuits.
Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter keen to play mixed
And speaking over the weekend, de Minaur revealed he and fiancee Boulter are keen to take part. The Aussie is currently World No.8 in men’s singles, meaning he and Boulter would gain automatic entry into the mixed. The glamour couple previously played mixed at Wimbledon in 2023.
“Me personally, I really enjoy playing mixed doubles, so I think it’s going to be fun to hopefully play some mixed with Katie, which will be exciting,” de Minaur said ahead of this week’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. “If I’m looking purely at myself and the situation I’m in, it does present an opportunity for me to play mixed doubles, which in previous years I probably wouldn’t have done just because as the format is right now for a singles player, you’re not really going to play mixed doubles because your priority is obviously the singles.
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“The way it’s proposed now, it definitely entices a lot more of the singles players to play, and it’s an opportunity. “I think we’ve both learned a lot from each other’s tours (he and Boulter). Before we were together, we probably didn’t know as much. It’s been kind of fun to have those two dynamics. We bounce off each other – she gives me advice, I give her advice. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we don’t. It’s all with a good heart.”
Tennis players rage against US Open mixed doubles revamp
While it presents a good opportunity for de Minaur and Boulter, it’s set to leave a number of mixed doubles players out in the cold. With only eight wildcard spots on offer, many who rely on mixed events to make a living will miss out.
Aussie player Ellen Perez said previously: “Tell us that you think doubles players are trash, that tradition is overrated and job opportunity is a thing of the past without actually saying it.” While decorated French player Kristina Mladenovic declared the decision “terribly shocking”.
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The former World No.1 and nine-time grand slam champion said: “Doing that just to sell more money during first week of the event. Making it look like an exhibition for whoever wants to play! What about players playing singles [qualifiers] that want/could with their doubles ranking play mixed?”
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Alex de Minaur and Alexei Popyrin on collision course
Meanwhile, de Minaur will be back in action in Dubai this week and could be on a collision course with fellow Aussie Alexei Popyrin in the second round. Popyrin will be a warm favourite to beat Lebanese wildcard Hady Habib in the opening round, and will face de Minaur if his compatriot gets past former grand slam champ Marin Cilic.
As for Boulter, she recently withdrew from tournaments in Dubai and Qatar in mysterious circumstances. It’s since been revealed she’s been battling a foot injury, but is hopeful of making a return at Indian Wells next month.
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