Venus Williams-Bublik, married couples among new teams entered for US Open mixed doubles

NEW YORK (AP) — An additional 13 teams, one featuring Venus Williams and some comprised of married couples, have entered the U.S. Open mixed doubles championship .

The new duos announced Monday by the U.S. Tennis Association raised the total to 29 teams for the 16 spots in the main draw, which will be held on Aug. 25 and Aug. 26.

Williams is partnering with Alexander Bublik for the tournament that was overhauled last year, with a $1 million prize to the winning team, in an effort to get top singles players to compete. Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka and 24-time Grand Slam singles champion Novak Djokovic headlined the initial list of 16 teams who entered.

Elina Svitolina and her husband Gael Monfils, who is expected to play his final Grand Slam event at the U.S. Open, and newlyweds Katie Boulter and Alex De Minaur also were among the new entries.

The other new teams: Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik, Anna Kalinskaya and Lorenzo Musetti, Emma Navarro and Tommy Paul, Maria Sakkari and Karen Khachanov, Tatjana Maria and Valentin Vacherot, Reese Brantmeier and Michael Zheng, Jelena Ostapenko and Marcelo Arevalo, Gabriela Dabrowski and Harri Heliovaara, Demi Schuurs and Julian Cash, and Caty McNally and Robert Cash.

Teams can enter until Aug. 17, when the six duos with the best combined singles rankings at the time will be automatically entered into the main draw. That means Sabalenka, the two-time defending U.S. Open women’s champion , and Djokovic, still ranked No. 5 on the men’s tour at age 39, will be safely into the field.

Eight teams will be given wild cards by the USTA, and two other teams will play their way into the field through a new qualifying tournament to be held Aug. 24.

Besides Sabalenka and Djokovic, teams previously announced were: Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud, the runners-up in 2025 ; Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz, the Japanese duo of Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori, Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper, Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev, 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, Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten, and siblings Peyton Stearns and Preston Stearns.

Errani and Vavassori are the two-time defending U.S. Open champions. The Italians needed a wild card to get into last year’s event because their singles ranking was too low, and that will be the case again this year.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis