{"id":196266,"date":"2025-10-08T01:05:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T01:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/196266\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T01:05:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T01:05:09","slug":"australian-open-announce-new-tennis-event-which-could-be-their-equivalent-to-us-open-mixed-doubles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/196266\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian Open announce new tennis event which could be their equivalent to US Open mixed doubles"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\/ Follow us on Google Discover <\/a> <\/p>\n

The US Open introduced a new-look mixed doubles event in 2025, which received mixed reviews.<\/p>\n

In a bid to attract more eyes to doubles, the US Open revamped its mixed doubles tournament<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n

Top-ten players Carlos Alcaraz<\/a>, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Iga Swiatek, and Jessica Pegula all competed, but interestingly, it was the doubles stars who emerged victorious.<\/p>\n

Against all odds, Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori defended their US Open title<\/a>, defeating Swiatek and Casper Ruud in the final.<\/p>\n

\"SaraPhoto by Robert Prange\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The event was a real success, leading many to question whether the other Grand Slam tournaments would follow suit and make changes to their mixed doubles format.<\/p>\n

It seems unlikely that any changes will be made ahead of 2026, although the Australian Open<\/a> has just revealed a new-look event, which could be their answer to the US Open mixed doubles.<\/p>\n

Australian Open announce $1 million amateur vs pro \u20181-point Slam\u2019<\/p>\n

In 2026, the Australian Open will host the \u2018Million Dollar 1-point Slam\u2019, an event which pits 22 pros against ten amateurs.<\/p>\n

Qualifying for the event will take place during the opening week, with the final set to be played on Rod Laver Arena.<\/p>\n

The format is simple: the competitors will play a game of rock, paper, scissors to decide who serves, and whoever wins the point advances to the next round.<\/p>\n

During the 2026 Australian Open media launch event, tournament director Craig Tiley had this to say about the \u2018Million Dollar 1-point Slam\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"ViewPhoto by Daniel Pockett\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very excited to launch the new Million Dollar 1 Point Slam, with the ultimate winner \u2013 whether amateur or pro player \u2013 walking away with $1 million in prize money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the coming weeks, we\u2019ll open entries at clubs around the country, and during Opening Week, the finalists will battle it out for a spot to face the pros on Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday night \u2013 so you now have one million reasons to pick up a racquet and get in shape for January.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tiley then named the star player who will headline the list of pros competing at the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can reveal today that World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz<\/a> will headline the pro player line-up in the Million Dollar 1 Point Slam \u2013 a thrilling new initiative where one point could win you $1 million,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Victorian pro Omar Jasika won the inaugural \u20181 Point Slam\u2019 in 2025, but took home just $60,000 in prize money.<\/p>\n

Increasing the prize pot to $1 million, the Australian Open have matched what was on offer for the winners of the 2025 US Open mixed doubles event.<\/p>\n

It will certainly be interesting to see how fans respond to the new initiative in Melbourne, but what has Tiley said about introducing a new format to the mixed doubles event at the Australian Open?<\/p>\n

Craig Tiley doesn\u2019t plan on changing the Australian Open mixed doubles event<\/p>\n

During an episode of \u2018The Tennis\u2019 podcast, host Brie Stewart claimed that the Australian Open isn\u2019t planning on changing its mixed doubles format.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we have heard is that we do not have any plans to change how mixed doubles has always traditionally been played,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCraig [Tiley] has come out and said he is happy with how it\u2019s always been done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Australian duo Olivia Gadecki and John Peers won the title in 2025, becoming the first Aussie pair to win the tournament since Matthew Ebden and Jarmila Gajdosova in 2013.<\/p>\n

\"OliviaPhoto by DAVID GRAY\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Had the Australian Open opted for a US Open-style format, the likes of Gadecki and Peers may not have been given the chance to compete.<\/p>\n

Sticking with tradition, the chances are Gadecki and Peers will have an opportunity to defend their title when the 2026 Australian Open begins on Monday, January 12.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Follow us on Google Discover The US Open introduced a new-look mixed doubles event in 2025, which received…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196267,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[7641,49,48,82,593,2084],"class_list":{"0":"post-196266","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-australian-open","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-tennis","13":"tag-us-open"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196266\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}