Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper Team Up for US Open Mixed Doubles
In an unexpected turn, Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper will team up in the mixed doubles tournament at the US Open. The event, which has been revamped, has seen changes in its participants due to the withdrawals of other players.
The situation arose after Pegula and Draper’s original partners withdrew on Friday, forcing both tennis players to seek new partners. Jannik Sinner, one of the highest-ranked male players, is also in the same situation.
The tournament, which offers a prize of one million dollars to the winning team, will be affected by the absence of Emma Navarro, who has decided to withdraw to participate in a tournament in Monterrey, Mexico, next week.
Pegula, who was the US Open runner-up last year, was originally going to play with Tommy Paul, while Draper was scheduled to play with Paula Badosa. However, both Pegula and Draper, along with Sinner, had the opportunity to find new partners before the deadline on Sunday, thus ensuring their direct entry into the 16-team tournament, as long as their combined ranking was high enough.
The pair of Pegula and Draper, combined for a ranking of 9, which allowed them to enter the tournament directly.
Following the changes, Jasmine Paolini and Lorenzo Musetti also managed to enter the tournament thanks to their combined ranking.
Currently, there are 13 occupied spots, including the current mixed doubles champions, Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, who received a special invitation from the United States Tennis Association.
Other directly qualified teams are: Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud, Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz, Amanda Anisimova and Holger Rune, Belinda Bencic and Alexander Zverev, and Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev.
The other special invitations have been granted to Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz, Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe, Olga Danilovic and Novak Djokovic, Taylor Townsend and Ben Shelton, and Venus Williams and Reilly Opelka.
