The much-talked-about pairing of Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz fell to an early exit in the US Open’s mixed doubles competition on Tuesday, losing their first-round match and failing to win a set.
Raducanu and Alcaraz, who have both lifted the US Open singles title on this court, lost 4-2, 4-2 against top seeds Jack Draper and Jessica Pegula, their partnership lasting just 50 minutes inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The highlight of their short-lived campaign came in the second set when Alcaraz hunted down a wide and dipping backhand from Draper, swiping it down the line and receiving a look of astonishment from Raducanu.
In a reimagined competition comprising almost entirely of singles specialists, Draper and Pegula fared better than most, later defeating Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev 4-1, 4-1 for a spot in the semifinals.
“I don’t know what I was expecting, but I think it’s been pretty good so far, especially after not competing for a while,” said Draper, who was playing his first matches since a second-round exit at Wimbledon last month.
“I’m happy with the way I’m playing. It’s all about having a good partner as well – that’s true.”
Pegula, a US Open singles finalist last year, and Draper will play third seeds Iga Świątek and Casper Ruud for a spot in the final on Wednesday.
Świątek and Alcaraz both lifted singles titles at the Cincinnati Open on Monday before flying into New York on a private jet, making for a hectic and congested schedule with this year’s mixed doubles event taking place the week before the main tournament.
“Everyone should show some appreciation to Iga today because she got to her hotel 12 hours ago at 2:30 a.m. and she’s here playing, so thank you so much, Iga,” Ruud said in an on-court interview after their quarterfinal win.
The new mixed doubles format has stirred controversy in the tennis community. Undoubtedly, there have been more eyeballs on the event and fans have a unique opportunity to see the game’s biggest stars play alongside and against each other, but it comes at the expense of doubles specialists losing the chance to win a grand slam.
The 16 pairs were playing a shortened format of first to four games across three sets, with no advantage after deuce and a 10-point tie break instead of a full third set.
Prize money for the winning pair stands at $1 million, a huge increase of $800,000 from 2024.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the only doubles specialists in the draw – defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori – won both of their matches, defeating Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz and then Karolina Muchová and Andrey Rublev.
“Honestly, we felt a bit before stepping on court our mission was to play this tournament,” Vavassori told reporters. “We were not sure during the year. For us, it was important to send a message before the tournament.
“When we got the wild card … I was grateful to play. At least there were not so many doubles players. We are also playing for them. I think it’s important to show also that doubles players are great players.
“I think our main goal in the future will be to change a little bit the narrative because singles players are amazing on singles, but doubles players are amazing in doubles. If doubles players play against singles, sometimes they play better because they are more organized.”
Errani and Vavassori will continue their title defense against the American pairing of Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison, a last-minute entry into the competition, in Wednesday’s semifinals.
