The U.S. Tennis Association on Monday announced the initial entry list for its 2026 U.S. Open Mixed Doubles Championship, the second edition of the event since it was rescheduled to the U.S. Open’s pre-main draw Fan Week, and reformatted to accommodate more popular singles players, in 2025.
The initial 2026 entry list (listed in full below) is undoubtedly star-studded but also features some notable absences. The most significant in the latter category is ATP No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who a source confirmed withheld his name as part of the ongoing effort by a group of top 20 ATP and WTA players, coordinated by former WTA chief Larry Scott, to secure a higher share of revenue as prize money at the Grand Slams, among other demands. (Sinner initially signed on to play the event in 2025 before having to withdraw after falling ill during the Cincinnati Open final one day prior.)
Full list of the initial entrants for 2026:
- Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic
- Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz
- Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev
- Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud
- Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli
- Diana Shnaider and Daniil Medvedev
- Amanda Anisimova and Learner Tien
- Alex Eala and Felix Auger-Aliassime
- Leylah Fernandez and Frances Tiafoe
- Taylor Townsend and Alexander Zverev
- Elena-Gabriela Ruse and Nuno Borges
- Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper
- Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori
- Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori
- Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten
- Peyton Stearns and Preston Stearns
Other players that have had ties to Scott’s group who are not on the initial entry list include Coco Gauff, who did not participate in the mixed doubles event in 2025, and Carlos Alcaraz (currently sidelined with a wrist injury) and Ben Shelton, who did -- though the reasons for their absences are not thought to be singularly tied to the prize money effort. Pegula, Sabalenka and Rybakina, who did enter, participated in a meeting with USTA leadership earlier this month to discuss the player group’s demands, according to The Athletic.
At this stage -- one month before the mixed doubles event begins on Aug. 24 -- this entry list is preliminary. Names could still be added, by a deadline of Aug. 17, or withdrawn. On deadline day, the top six teams on the entry list by combined singles ranking will receive direct entry into the event, with eight additional teams determined via wild card and the final two in a 16-team field decided by an eight-team qualifying draw.
The USTA continues to place considerable emphasis on the reformatted championship, which in 2025 sold out Arthur Ashe Stadium during both days of competition, drove millions of visitors to the U.S. Open’s mobile app, website and YouTube channel, and paid $1M in prize money to the winning team of Errani and Vavassori. It was also named the “Sports Breakthrough of the Year” at SBJ’s Sports Business Awards.
In 2026, the USTA is expanding the event to include qualifying matches on Aug. 24, followed by first round/quarterfinal play across Ashe and Louis Armstrong Stadium during the day on Aug. 25, and the semifinals/final on Ashe starting at 7pm ET on Aug. 26. Qualifying and first round/quarterfinal matches are free to attend, while the Ashe matches are ticketed. ESPN, which is starting the first year of a new 12-year U.S. media rights pact with the U.S. Open this year, will also carry mixed doubles matches, though its full programming schedule has yet to be announced. And Vital Proteins, the collagen brand that was the presenting sponsor of the first reformatted mixed doubles event last year, has signed a multiyear renewal to continue in that slot as the U.S. Open’s “official collagen partner,” a new category for the tournament.
