“It just feels like it’s slowly going downhill and eventually, people are just like ‘It sucks, we don’t need it. It just doesn’t do anything for us.’ Whereas, actually, with a bit of care and attention, you could elevate it and bring more value to the Tour,” Murray told Tennis Majors last year.
“Scheduling bothers me so much at some of the events. It’s giving it no chance to thrive. Right now, it feels to me that it’s kind of set up for failure.”
Could the US Open new mixed doubles experiment be what tennis needs to revamp the struggling format, and could other Grand Slams be next? Big scheduling changes are clearly on the table: The US Open recently announced its move to a 15-day event—following suit after Roland Garros and the Australian Open previously did the same—and Wimbledon allowed play on Middle Sunday for the first time in its history back in 2021.
There’s been no confirmation yet from the USTA on when or if the rumored changes will go into effect. But once they do, we can imagine that other Grand Slam tournament directors and organizers will be following the experiment closely.
