Despite the introduction of a modified structure this year, Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani successfully retained their mixed doubles final title at the US Open.
The Italian duo triumphed over the team of Casper Ruud and Iga Świątek with a score of 6-3, 5-7, (10-6) in the final held at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York on Wednesday night. This victory secured them the title in the newly formatted mixed doubles competition at the Grand Slam event, along with a substantial $1 million prize. This marks their third major title as a unified team.
Vavassori and Errani established a strong lead from the outset, quickly advancing to a 4-1 advantage in the opening set before Ruud and Świątek began to retaliate. They secured two consecutive games to narrow the gap to a single game and even gained a 40-15 lead in the eighth game. However, Vavassori and Errani responded effectively, winning seven consecutive points to regain control and swiftly conclude the opening set.
Ruud and Świątek demonstrated improved resilience in the second set, even taking an early 3-2 lead. Vavassori also began receiving treatment on his left thigh, ultimately requiring a medical timeout. However, this pause seemed to benefit him, as Vavassori and Errani secured eight of the subsequent 11 points to regain the lead. They also rallied from a 30-0 deficit with four consecutive points in the following game, seemingly thwarting Ruud and Świątek’s attempts to close the gap.
Ruud and Świątek managed to persevere in the ninth game of the second set, surprising the Italians and leveling the score at 5-5. Capitalizing on the regained momentum, Ruud and Świątek held on to win the subsequent game and then broke Errani’s serve, forcing the decisive tiebreak.
However, their lost ground was immediately recovered in the tiebreak. Errani and Vavassori secured three immediate points with powerful slams and then established a 4-2 lead after Świątek struggled with her serve. Vavassori and Errani weathered a chaotic rally to extend their lead to 6-4, after allowing Świątek and Ruud to close the gap. This sparked a 4-1 run before they ultimately secured the victory and claimed the title.
Świątek and Ruud orchestrated a significant comeback to even reach the final. After winning the second set to force the tiebreaker, Świątek and Ruud scored the final six points of the night to secure the win after trailing 8-4. Świątek sealed the deal with a backhand winner down the baseline, eliminating top-seeded Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper.
Vavassori and Errani wasted no time in their semifinal match, swiftly defeating Americans Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison 4-2, 4-2 to secure their return to the finals.
The US Open implemented changes in the mixed doubles competition this year in an effort to revitalize that aspect of the event. In addition to offering a seven-figure prize—in contrast, Errani and Vavassori shared just $200,000 for their mixed doubles win last year—they significantly altered the rules. Sets were played to four games instead of six before Wednesday’s final, advantage scoring was eliminated, and a match tiebreaker was used instead of a third set. The event was reduced to just 16 teams and moved to a time before the US Open singles competition even commenced.
Despite their victory, Errani was among those who expressed dissatisfaction with the change. After all, they were among the very few true doubles teams that were competing.
“It would be like if, at the Olympics, they didn’t let the actual high jumpers participate, and instead had basketball players compete in the high jump because it’s more ‘interesting.’ If you want to do that, I guess you can, but you can’t award them medals,” Errani said beforehand, via The Associated Press.
“You can’t have a Grand Slam doubles [trophy] and not let doubles players take part. … You’re excluding them from their sport. It’s dishonest.”
Regardless of any criticism they dished out, Errani and Vavassori still came out on top and have another Grand Slam title under their belt. That and a $500,000 check each has to count for something.
