Novak Djokovic to play with Olga Danilovic and Grigor Dimitrov to partner Aryna Sabalenka in star-studded US Open mixed doubles draw.
By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Photo credit: Nathan Stirk/Getty/LTA
US Open champions will join forces in Flushing Meadows this summer.
The 2022 US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz will partner 2021 US Open title holder Emma Raducanu in a star-studded US Open Mixed Doubles event.
Grand Slam king Novak Djokovic will play with compatriot Olga Danilovic, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and Emma Navarro are teaming up, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will partner good friend Grigor Dimitrov and Tsitsidosa—tennis glamor couple Stefanos Tsitsipas and partner Paula Badosa are also entered in the US Open Mixed Doubles.
Nine of the world’s Top-10 women and nine of the world’s Top-10 men are in the US Open Mixed Doubles tournament, which will be played during US Open Fan Week on Tuesday, August 19, and Wednesday, August 20, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Why so many stars this year?
One reason is money.
The winning team will cash a champion’s check of $1 Million—not bad at all for a couple of days of work—and an $800,000 increase over the 2024 US Open Mixed Doubles champions’ check.
To put that figure into perspective, the 2024 US Open singles champions reach earned $3.6 Million and the 2024 US Open singles finalists each collected $1.8 Million. The 2024 US Open doubles champions shared a champions’ check of $750,000.
The entry list for the 2025 US Open Mixed Doubles Championship includes the following teams (listed by combined singles ranking):
Emma Navarro and Jannik Sinner
Qinwen Zheng and Jack Draper
Jessica Pegula and Tommy Paul
Jasmine Paolini and Lorenzo Musetti
Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz
Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev
Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe
Aryna Sabalenka and Grigor Dimitrov
Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud
Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas
Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz
Belinda Bencic and Alexander Zverev
Olga Danilovic and Novak Djokovic
Taylor Townsend and Ben Shelton
Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori
Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios
In total, 16 teams have entered as of June 16th.
The entry window will close on July 28 at 12:00 ET, at which time the top eight teams with the best combined singles ranking at the time will officially be in the field/draw via direct acceptance.
The remaining eight teams will be determined via wild card and announced on a date to follow.
“In our initial discussions about reimagining and elevating the US Open Mixed Doubles Championship, we wanted to find a way to showcase the world’s best men and women competing with and against one another, and we were confident that we would be able to get the top players in the game excited about this unique opportunity,” said Lew Sherr, CEO and Executive Director, USTA. “Seeing the teams that have already put their names on the entry list makes us all incredibly excited. It shows that the players are behind what we are trying to do, and we know that the fans will love it.”
Last August, Tsitsipas and Badosa celebrated what the Greek called “one of the coolest date nights I could have asked for” when they won the inaugural US Open Mixed Madness exhibition.
Tsitsidosa overcame a talented field that featured Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios, Amanda Anisimova and Taylor Fritz and Coco Gauff and Ben Shelton with $250,000 in prize money on the line.
The Italian duo of Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori defeated Taylor Townsend and Donald Young to win the 2024 US Open Mixed Doubles championship. The Italian pair also defeated Townsend and Evan King earlier this month to win Roland Garros doubles. Errani and Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini are the reigning Olympic doubles champion.
Supporters of the new Mixed Doubles format say this is the ideal way to give Mixed Doubles, which has often been overlooked in Flushing Meadows, its own platform to gain its own spotlight with coverage by ESPN and international broadcast rights holders.
Critics say let’s call this for what it is: It’s the USTA’s latest attempt to tap into a new revenue stream from its cash cow that is the US Open. Critics say it’s about selling more tickets (though Fan Week is free the US Open Mixed Doubles will required paid ticketed attendance) and part of the USTA’s larger aim to eventually extend the Open to a three-week tournament with more paid sessions, more parking and concession sales to make more money off devoted tennis fans.
The USTA says this is about “elevating” Mixed Doubles and not about a cash grab.
“The US Open has long strived to find innovative and new ways to make the game more accessible and entertaining for our fans,” said Stacey Allaster, US Open Tournament Director, ahead of her final US Open. “We believe that this reimagined US Open Mixed Doubles Championship will do exactly that, with the top men and women players in tennis competing side-by-side in a fast-paced, highly competitive format.
“Being able to move this event to a place on the schedule where it is able to take center stage was very important, and with our broadcast partners fully bought-in, more fans than ever before, both in the U.S. and around the globe, will be able to enjoy this incredible competition.”