Raducanu and Alcaraz exit US Open mixed doubles but light up New York crowd

Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz may have bowed out of the new-look US Open mixed doubles, but they left Arthur Ashe Stadium to the cheers of an adoring crowd, Sport360NG reports.

In a lively, almost festival-like setting in New York, the British-Spanish duo fell to Jack Draper and American star Jessica Pegula, who advanced to the semi-finals with a 4-2 4-2 victory. Despite Pegula being the home favourite, the majority of fans inside Flushing Meadows sided with Raducanu and Alcaraz, creating one of the tournament’s most talked-about moments.

The mixed doubles event, which now features a shorter format and a lucrative $1m prize pool, has been moved to the week before the singles draws to encourage participation from top players. While the changes have divided opinion, the pairing of Raducanu and Alcaraz had already generated headlines before a ball was struck.

There were concerns the partnership might not even materialise after Alcaraz reached the Cincinnati final just 24 hours earlier. But when the two stars walked out on court together, the arena erupted in excitement. Music from a live DJ, fans dancing in the stands, and an exhibition-style atmosphere gave the contest a unique feel.

While Raducanu and Alcaraz entertained with smiles and laughter throughout, their lack of doubles experience was evident against Pegula, a former doubles world number one, and Draper, who looked sharp after missing earlier partners through injury withdrawals. Their determination carried them to another impressive win over Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev to reach the last four.

Elsewhere, the tournament continued to spring surprises. Novak Djokovic and Olga Danilovic were knocked out in the opening round by Medvedev and Andreeva, while men’s world number one Jannik Sinner was forced to withdraw on Tuesday due to illness.

For traditional doubles specialists, the revamped event has been a source of frustration. Defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, the only established doubles pair in the 16-team draw, described the shake-up as unfair. Given a late wildcard, they responded with two passionate victories, defeating Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz before edging out Karolina Muchova and Andrey Rublev to reach the semi-finals.

“We’re also playing for all the doubles players who couldn’t be here,” said Vavassori after their win.

Errani and Vavassori will now face Americans Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison, while Pegula and Draper meet Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud for a place in the final.