Tennis icon Jimmy Connors has weighed in on the launch of the 2025 US Open’s revamped mixed doubles event.
With a $1 million prize pool and 16 high-profile ATP-WTA pairings set to compete during Fan Week, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) is swinging big, and Connors believes it’s a clear signal that tennis is trying to modernize to stay competitive in an evolving sports and entertainment landscape.
Jimmy Connors Lauds Bold Mixed Doubles Format and Star Pairings
Slated for August 19 and 20 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the tournament will take place during the opening days of the US Open. The draw will feature some of the sport’s most recognizable names teaming up in combinations rarely seen in elite play.
Among the pairings: Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios, Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud, Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz, Emma Navarro and Jannik Sinner, Olga Danilovic and Novak Djokovic, and Aryna Sabalenka with Grigor Dimitrov.
The format will feature best-of-three sets with sets played to four games (no-ad scoring and a tiebreak at 4-4), and a 10-point tiebreak in place of a third set. The final match will adopt a slightly extended structure with sets to six games but will retain the no-ad and 10-point tiebreak format if sets are split.
In a recent episode of his ‘Advantage Connors’ podcast, which he co-hosts with his son Brett, the 72-year-old Hall of Famer offered candid thoughts on the initiative. “Yeah, I mean, it seems like they’ve changed the scoring a bit to bring in the big names and try to fill the stadium for another four or five days, maybe,” Connors said.
While acknowledging that drawing star players and shortening matches could generate attention, Connors expressed concern about the long-term direction of tennis and its place among other fast-growing racquet sports.
“You can tell they’re trying to do whatever they can to keep interest in the game alive. Pickleball and Padel, this new sport coming in, are starting to wedge their way into the tennis conversation. They’re easier to pick up, and you get better at them faster than you do with tennis,” he noted.
Connors Reflects on Tennis’s Fight for Relevance
The former World No. 1 emphasized that these recent changes point to a deeper concern of sustaining tennis’s relevance among younger generations. “The real question is: what’s it going to take to keep tennis at a high level, to keep people interested, especially young players?” Connors asked.
“How do we get them back out on public courts, in high schools, and on college teams, like it was in the ’70s and ’80s? Maybe this is one way, changing the scoring for mixed doubles, shortening the sets.”
“I don’t know. At this rate, pretty soon they might say you can’t hit more than four balls in a point. Maybe that’s the next step, even for singles. Maybe that’s what it’s going to take,” Connors joked.
