Grand Slam tennis is back for one last instalment of the year, and there is something very different about the feel of this one.

The world’s elite converge on New York, New York for the US Open, but many of the top-ranked players across the men’s and women’s game have arrived a week early.

Why? For the revamped mixed doubles event, that has attracted the biggest names in the sport to join forces in a brand new format designed to excite fans with all-star teams and matches ahead of the calendar year’s last major tournament.

That has not been without controversy, however, with the defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori putting out a joint statement back in February that called the new format a “profound injustice”, before saying, “Making decisions just following the logic of profit is profoundly wrong in some situations.”

British No1s Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu faced on in the first round on Thursday with the former cruising to a straight-set win alongside American partner Jessica Pegula to send Carlos Alcaraz home early.

Draper and Pegula returned to book their place in the semi-finals as they thrashed Daniil Medvedev and Mirra Andreeva – conquerors of Novak Djokovic and Olga Danilovic – 4-1 4-1. The pair will face Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud in Wednesday’s semi-final, with the final to be played later the same day.

US Open 2025 mixed doubles order of play

Arthur Arthur Stadium (12am BST start)

Semi-final 1: Pegula (USA) and Draper (GBR) vs Swiatek (POL) and Ruud (NOR)

Semi-final 2: Collins (USA) and Harrison (USA) vs Errani (ITA) and Vavassori (ITA)

When is Jack Draper playing?

Draper and Pegula will take to the court in their semi-final match on Wednesday, August 19, 2025.

They face Swiatek and Ruud, who brushed aside Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe before defeating Caty McNally and Lorenzo Musetti to reach the last four.

That semi-final is scheduled first on Arthur Ashe Stadium, with a start time of 7pm ET (midnight BST into Thursday).

Should Draper and Pegula get through the third seeds, they could face either defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori or American duo Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison, who replaced Jannik Sinner and Katerina Siniakova at the last minute, in the final later on Wednesday evening.

What is the match format?

The layout of the matches will be slightly different than a traditional best-of-three, first to six games encounter.

Here, while the match will still be best-of-three, the sets will be shorter, played to four games rather than the usual six, with no advantages (sudden-death deuce), and a tiebreak if scores are tied at 4-4.

A ten-point championship tiebreak will be played if the pairs are level at one set all.

The winning pair will receive $1million (£736,880), while the beaten finalists will take home $400,000 (£294,729).

Semi-finalists will receive $200,000 (£147,364), and those that make it to the last eight will pocket $100,000 (£73,682).

A first-round exit will generate $20,000 (£14,736) per pair.

US Open mixed doubles 2025 pairings

Which stars joined forces? Any surprise duos?

Jessica Pegula & Jack Draper

Iga Swiatek & Casper Ruud

Elena Rybakina & Taylor Fritz

Amanda Anisimova & Holger Rune

Belinda Bencic & Alexander Zverev

Mirra Andreeva & Daniil Medvedev

Caty McNally & Lorenzo Musetti

Emma Raducanu & Carlos Alcaraz

Madison Keys & Frances Tiafoe

Olga Danilovic & Novak Djokovic

Taylor Townsend & Ben Shelton

Sara Errani & Andrea Vavassori

Venus Williams & Reilly Opelka

Karolina Muchova & Andrey Rublev

Naomi Osaka & Gael Monfils

Danielle Collins & Christian Harrison

Who is seeded? How did they decide who was seeded?

There are four top seeds in the draw, with the seedings decided upon combined singles’ ranking.

Draper and Pegula are the top seeds – with the Briton ranked world No5, and Pegula sitting at world No4.

Second was home favourite Taylor Fritz, last year’s beaten men’s singles finalist, and he partnered Elena Rybakina, the former Wimbledon champion.

Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud are the third seeds, while Holger Rune and Amanada Anisimova completed the top four.

Full US Open mixed doubles first round results

Jack Draper (GBR) & Jessica Pegula (USA) bt Carlos Alcaraz (Esp) & Emma Raducanu (GBR) – 4-2, 4-2

Mirra Andreeva & Daniil Medvedev bt Olga Danilovic & Novak Djokovic (Srb) – 4-2, 5-3

Casper Ruud (Nor) & Iga Swiatek (Pol) bt Madison Keys & Frances Tiafoe (USA) – 4-1, 4-2

Caty McNally (USA) & Lorenzo Musetti (Ita) bt Gael Monfils (Fra) & Naomi Osaka (Jpn) – 5-3, 4-2

Danielle Collins (USA) & Christian Harrison (USA) bt Belinda Bencic (Sui) & Alexander Zverev (Ger) – 4-0, 5-3

Ben Shelton & Taylor Townsend (USA) bt Amanda Anisimova (USA) & Holger Rune (Den) – 4-2, 5-4(2)

Karolina Muchova (Cze) & Andrey Rublev bt Reilly Opelka & Venus Williams (USA) – 4-2, 5-4(4)

Sara Errani & Andrea Vavassori (Ita) bt Taylor Fritz (USA) & Elena Rybakina (Kaz) – 4-2, 4-2

Jack Draper (GBR) & Jessica Pegula (USA) bt Mirra Andreeva & Daniil Medvedev – 4-1, 4-1

Casper Ruud (Nor) & Iga Swiatek (Pol) bt Caty McNally (USA) & Lorenzo Musetti (Ita) – 4-1, 4-2

Sara Errani & Andrea Vavassori (Ita) bt Karolina Muchova (Cze) & Andrey Rublev – 4-1, 5-4(4)

Danielle Collins (USA) & Christian Harrison (USA) bt Ben Shelton & Taylor Townsend (USA) – 4-1, 5-4(2)