Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur have joined the entry list for the US Open's mixed doubles, one month after marrying in Tuscany. The former British No1 and the world No5 married in Siena before celebrating at the Borgo Santo Pietro luxury hotel, days after a small family ceremony in Boulter's home county of Leicestershire.
The couple are now set to play their first tournament together as husband and wife, having previously played mixed doubles at Wimbledon three years ago. They entered the US Open mixed doubles last year but missed out on a place in a packed field.
The US Open relaunched its mixed doubles tournament last year, aiming to draw a new audience to the event on the eve of the main draw singles matches. The United States Tennis Association tempted big-name singles players to pair up, including the much-discussed partnership of Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu.
How the format works
Teams can qualify through direct entry, with six pairs chosen based on their combined singles ranking and eight more given wildcards into the main draw. Two further teams reach the main draw through qualifying, in which six pairs play by ranking and two more receive wildcards.
Boulter and de Minaur joined the entry list in a second wave of entrants, after other high-profile partnerships were announced last month. Pairs all but guaranteed a spot in the main draw include world No1 Aryna Sabalenka with Novak Djokovic, Elena Rybakina with US men's No1 Taylor Fritz, and Iga Swiatek with Casper Ruud.
Other couples and pairings entered
Boulter and de Minaur are not the only married couple entering. Elena-Gabriela Ruse and Nuno Borges were announced in the first wave, while husband and wife Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils joined in the second.
Former British No1 Jack Draper has paired up for a second year running with Jessica Pegula, the US women's No1, after the pair reached the semi-final last year. Pegula said this week the two had found each other again with a view to "running it back," though Draper faces a nervous wait for a main draw wildcard that would let him play alongside Pegula rather than enter singles qualifying.
Other new pairs announced alongside Boulter and de Minaur include Anna Kalinskaya with Lorenzo Musetti, Wimbledon finalist Karolina Muchova with fellow Czech Jakub Mensik, and Venus Williams with Alexander Bublik. New teams could still be announced before the entry window closes on August 17, with players including Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Serena Williams not yet paired up.
Raducanu will not team up with Alcaraz again after news broke on Monday that she will be unable to compete in New York at all, as she continues to recover from a grade four stress fracture.
Prize money and match format
The mixed doubles event carries a $1 million prize and features a shortened format allowing multiple matches across the two night sessions. Until the semi-finals, best-of-three matches will be played to four games with no-advantage scoring and a 10-point tiebreak instead of a third set. From the semi-finals onward, matches are played to six games.
