Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu, will face each other in the first round of the revamped US Open mixed doubles. The event has been moved to before the main tournament, on 19 and 20 August, with $1m (£750,000) in prize money at stake for the winners of the 16-pair event.
Draper will play with the American Jessica Pegula after their original partners, Paula Badosa and Tommy Paul, withdrew. With both inside the top five in the singles rankings, the pair have been handed the top seeding and will kick off their campaign against the wildcard pair of Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz.
after newsletter promotion
The winners will face the 24-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic and Olga Danilovic if they overcome Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev. Venus Williams, at the age of 45, and compatriot Reilly Opelka face Karolina Muchova and Andrey Rublev .
Meanwhile, the six-time Wimbledon doubles champion Gordon Reid says wheelchair tennis must keep proving its value to tournaments to help close the gap in prize money. Reid and his partner, Alfie Hewett, are preparing for the US Open, which last week announced a large increase in winnings.
While the mixed doubles champions will now get $1m, the total pot for all wheelchair players is $1.69m. Reid and Hewett, who have won six titles at Flushing Meadows, with Hewett also winning four singles titles, have been a big driving force in the improvement in wheelchair tennis.
“It’s been 20 years since we started, so in terms of the age of the slams themselves, we’re very fresh, very new,” Reid said. “As much as we want to see an increase and the gap in the prize money closing, we also need to prove we’re adding something, adding value to the tournament. Hopefully, those come hand in hand, the opportunities we get and the prize money.
