Tennis is and always has been the gentleman’s sport with a great and proud history. The all-white attire on the English courts and strict rules on and off court still serve as a reminder of that. 

So really, how could I not get angry when the fourth Grand Slam of the year — US Open — announced they are changing the way mixed doubles will be set-up, when it is clearly just a money-making scheme?

Tennis is played in three categories: singles, doubles and mixed doubles. While singles and doubles are separated by the ATP (men’s league) and WTA (women’s league), mixed doubles are the rare time where the teams are made up of a man and a woman tennis player.

What makes these pairings rare is that they only happen on the big tournaments. The big four Grand Slams — Australian Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros and US Open — and during the Hopman Cup which was was replaced by the United Cup — a mixed-gender team international tournament.

So there aren’t exactly a lot of opportunities for mixed teams to play together, which makes the times they can play even more precious. 

Unfortunately, mixed doubles aren’t exactly popular — at least not for the average viewer. They are usually played as the last batch of the tournament and rarely get their own spot on the TV — unless there’s no one else playing or it’s the finals.

When the USTA announced Feb. 11 that they are pushing the dates of its mixed doubles tournament earlier during the qualification rounds of the singles, it seemed like a great idea, especially since ESPN agreed to broadcast the matches.

However, because of the timing of it, the organizers decided to make it a two-day spectacle, only allowing 16 teams to compete.

Again, maybe that wouldn’t have been such a big deal if they still went through the regular motions, like having a qualifier set up. But no, this is where the issue comes in.

The rules for this “tournament” is that eight pairs get to participate based on their combined singles ranking — singles and doubles have different rankings — and the other eight are going to be decided by wildcards.

That might just be the stupidest thing I have ever heard.

Because the singles and doubles have different rankings, most players who specialize in doubles don’t have high singles ranking, since that is not their priority.

A lot of high-ranked singles players play doubles on the major tournaments, as it is an additional paycheck. Which is understandable, but with this new rule, there is no chance for the doubles players to actually get into the tournament.

Italian tennis players and 2024 US Open mixed doubles champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori released a joint statement on X shortly after the change was announced, titled “Tradition and History.”

“In our opinion making decisions just following the logic of profit is profoundly wrong in some situations,” the pair wrote. “Mixed doubles is not very well known, that’s true, but everything that’s part of a Slam competition — the History behind every single result — is unique and it’s a great honour to become part of it. In the last few weeks we received the news that the US Open mixed doubles tournament will be completely turned upside down, cancelled and replaced with a pseudo-exhibition focused only on entertainment and show. A decision made without consulting anyone, which we can do nothing but accept it. We see it as a profound injustice that disrespects an entire category of players. Put money above tennis is never a good idea.”

And they are 100% correct.

This tournament will be nothing more than eight pairs of top 50 singles players — and as great as they are at that, playing doubles is a bit of a different thing — and eight pairs of American players will most likely get the wildcards.

Glorified exhibition indeed.

They can try to spin this in whatever direction they want to, anyone who truly cares about the sport sees right through it.

Saddest part is, many singles players are excited about this change. Like the American tennis player Taylor Fritz, who was quoted saying: “I think there’s a very good chance I’ll play the mixed doubles. I think a lot of doubles players will be upset about it. But at the end of the day, the truth of the matter is, mixed doubles as it was, isn’t adding that much to the Slams. They’re not like filling up stadiums and stuff. People will be more excited to watch it with the top singles players.”

The only good point he made in that monologue was that this is his chance to play mixed doubles, because usually they are played during the singles tournament and when a player goes far enough in the draw they tend to focus on that first. Though really, there is no rule saying they can’t play both tournaments.

But that is why this matter is so frustrating. Revamping the way the mixed doubles tournament works isn’t a bad idea. Introducing high-ranked singles players into the mix isn’t a bad idea. Moving the dates of the tournament around to allow it to be televised isn’t a bad idea.

But why, just why, was it turned into a two-day matter that nothing but insults players who focus on doubles their whole lives? You might as well come right out and say you don’t care about them just because they like to play a team version of this sport — and yes, the idea that ‘singles players are better’ is very popular amongst the sport, unfortunately.

And to do it on one of the four Grand Slams? The US Open has been around since 1881, and as a Slam it holds the value, the tradition and the prestige of this sport.

Shame on you for devaluing doubles players just for some extra pocket change.