The revamped two-day mixed doubles event at the US Open 2025 concluded on Wednesday, August 20. While the format was different this year, the winners were the same. The Italian duo of Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori beat third seeds Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud 6-3, 5-7, 10-6 to defend their title in New York.
This triumph is perhaps the most significant of their careers. Errani and Vavassori were on a mission over the past two days. As doubles specialists were overlooked in favor of singles players, they sought to make a statement with their win, and they successfully achieved their goal.
When the US Open organizers announced their decision to revamp mixed doubles earlier this year, it didn’t go over well with doubles players. The draw size was cut in half from 32 teams to 16. Eight of those 16 teams would be decided based on the joint rankings in singles, while the other eight teams would be given wildcards based on the tournament’s discretion.
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This was done in order to gain more publicity by attracting top singles stars. The backlash was immediate, with fans deriding the move. While doubles pros naturally spoke up against it, a few singles stars also questioned the decision of the US Open.
When the news was first announced, Errani and Vavassori's participation was in doubt. While they're top players in doubles, neither of them was ranked high enough in singles to gain direct entry. Their participation was at the mercy of the tournament organizers, which seemed highly unfair to them as the defending champions. They released a statement on Instagram slamming the US Open's decision, calling the new entry criteria and format of mixed doubles a "profound injustice".
"In the last few weeks we received the news that US Open mixed doubles tournament will be completely turned upside down, cancelled and replaced with a pseudo-exhibition focused only on entertainment and show. It will be played during the qualification tournament, with 8 pairs of players determined by highest single ranking and 8 pairs of players invited by the tournament with a wild card.
A decision made without consulting anyone, which we can do nothing but accept it. We see it as a profound injustice, that disrespect an entire category of players. Put money above tennis is never a good idea. We don’t know at the moment if we’ll have the chance to defend our title, but we hope this will remain an isolated case and this type of policy will not be considered again in the future," Errani and Vavassori's statement.
Errani and Vavassori eventually received a wildcard to compete, though none of their fellow doubles stars were in the mix apart from Taylor Townsend and Christian Harrison. 11-time Major champion in doubles, Katerina Siniakova, almost made the cut but got shafted in the end after Jannik Sinner's untimely health woes. With both of them carrying the flag for doubles pros, they shouldered an additional responsibility.
Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori's US Open win proved that success in singles doesn't guarantee the same in doubles
Many players and spectators often think that if singles stars played doubles frequently, then they would wipe the floor with the doubles pros. Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori proved this line of thinking wrong with their victory at the US Open 2025, taking out many top singles stars en route to the mixed doubles crown.
The Italians were up against second seeds Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz in the first round, both ranked in the top 10 in singles at the moment. They commenced their title defense with a comfortable 4-2, 4-2 win.
During their post-match interview, Vavassori highlighted what sets doubles specialists apart from singles players who team up once in a while for a tournament. He also added that they're going to give it their best for their fellow doubles players who couldn't compete.
"I think the tactic in doubles is very important. They are amazing players, we all know that but in doubles, I think also the combination of the two players, we know each other so well, we are playing a lot of tournaments together. We talk a lot also outside of the court about tactics, we love to challenge each other also on the practice courts, so I think it is very important. We’re also playing for all the doubles players that could not compete here, so we tried to do our best," Vavassori said.
Errani and Vavassori then beat top-20 players in singles, Karolina Muchova and Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals, and followed it up with a win over Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison in the semifinals.
Even though they were challenged by six-time Major champion Swiatek and her partner Ruud in the final, they kept them at bay to emerge victorious. Errani dedicated their US Open win to her doubles peers during her victory speech.
"I think this one is for all the doubles players that couldn’t play this tournament. I think this one is also for them," Errani said.
Errani and Vavassori proved that singles stars cannot easily outshine doubles pros on their turf. While it remains to be seen if the new mixed doubles format becomes permanent or not, at the very least, the organizers could allow doubles pros to enter in equal numbers as the singles players. Doubles as a discipline has been overlooked, and if marketed well, players who exclusively compete in doubles can also help raise the sport's profile.
