Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz will look to successfully defend their Eisenhower Cup crown later on Tuesday as they take part in the $200,000 Tiebreak Tens event. The mixed doubles showcase takes place every year in the lead-up to the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
Rybakina and Fritz have formed a strong partnership, competing together in a number of mixed doubles events over the last 12 months, including the 2025 US Open Mixed Doubles Championship.
What Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina Have Said About Their Partnership
Rybakina and Fritz first teamed up at the 2025 Eisenhower Cup. Both praised each other after the event, with Fritz later inviting Rybakina to partner in the US Open mixed doubles.
“It was really fun and also Taylor was giving me some advice on the return. Since the guys’ serve is so good it’s not easy to return. But I think we did great. Yeah, super happy,” she said via Tennis Channel.
“I thought she played great last night. She did everything that I would, I guess, everything I could ask of a mixed doubles partner. I think it’s a good fit,” Fritz added at a press conference a day later as he hailed Rybakina’s service game.
Fritz and Rybakina later competed together at the 2025 US Open Mixed Doubles Championship. Prior to the event, the American called himself a “mixed doubles specialist” and said that he and Rybakina would be one of the teams to beat at Flushing Meadows.
“I think my record in mixed doubles kind of speaks for itself… I think that for whatever reason, I enjoy playing mixed doubles. It’s good for me. I think that we’re one of the teams to beat,” he said at a press conference ahead of Wimbledon.
How Rybakina and Fritz Fared at the US Open Mixed Doubles Championship
The 2025 US Open Mixed Doubles Championship marked the start of the event being played in a new format. Despite his confidence going into the event and their pairing as the second seeds, Rybakina and Fritz failed to advance past the first round.
They were beaten by Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani in straight sets, losing 4-2, 4-2. The Italian duo went on to win the event, defeating Iga Świątek and Casper Ruud in the final.
The 2026 Eisenhower Cup will give Fritz and Rybakina another opportunity to renew their partnership on the court. Every match at the event will be played in a single super tiebreaker, with the first team to reach 10 points advancing.
Fritz is a two-time winner at the event. He teamed up with Aryna Sabalenka in 2023 and 2024, winning the tournament in 2023.
