Andy Roddick has praised the new mixed doubles format at the US Open, yet he slammed some of the participants for “stealing” slots from specialists.
Andy Roddick has slammed the likes of Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz, claiming they are taking spots on the US Open mixed doubles draw that should be kept for the specialists. Despite this strong viewpoint, the former tennis star admits that including big names will only “grow the game of doubles” and should be looked upon as a positive thing.
The mixed doubles format for the final major of the year has been changed, moving forward into qualifying week and therefore allowing some of the biggest names in tennis to get some work in at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center ahead of the singles events beginning. It’s brought some criticism as the likes of Alcaraz, Raducanu, Jannik Sinner and Emma Navarro entered their names into the draw, meaning lower-ranked players who planned to play will be set to miss out.
Speaking on Served with Andy Roddick, the American tennis icon has expressed his mixed view on the recently-announced draw, stating that while famous faces will draw viewers to the game, it is also unfair to the tennis stars who specialise in doubles.
The 42-year-old said: “Now, is it taking jobs away from doubles players who kind of run this side tour? Yeah, it is. But, if your net, most important thing is – which is the defence that I get when people are mad at me when I talk about doubles – is, ‘We have to grow the game of doubles,’ there is not a better way to grow the game of doubles than to have the biggest stars on earth playing doubles, featured, ESPN prime time, in the lead-up to the US Open.”
Roddick added: “This entry list, I thought it would be fine, I thought we’d have some cool names and some cool matchups, [but] this is a 12/10 with the people who are going to do this. Don’t argue with me about what mixed doubles should be if you don’t get excited about this.
“People were like we had to grow the game of doubles, so we can’t take that away from the doubles that people don’t watch regularly… that was confusing to me. Now, you get nine of the top 10 on each side, biggest stars on earth, and then some. This is going to bring more eyeballs to the game of doubles.”
Roddick’s opinion highlights the mixed feelings around the doubles draw for the US Open this year, with many excited to tune into some of the star-studded partnerships we are greeted with. These include Alcaraz and Raducanu, Sinner and Navarro, Olga Danilovic and Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka teaming up with Nick Kyrgios.
The US Open mixed doubles tournament will be a two-day event on August 19 and 20 during the qualifying week of the final major tournament of the season.
