Errani & Vavassori Secure Italian Tennis Glory | tennisnet.com

Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori secured the existence of their discipline with their triumph in the mixed doubles at the US Open. At least for now.

The new US Open mixed competition made headlines this year. A mini-tournament in the week before the start of the main individual fields was intended to get the stars excited about the new concept. Considerable prize money was included. In the end, Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, the only doubles specialists, prevailed and that was a good thing.

The Italian duo defended their title against Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud and showed the tennis world that the quality of the players who have committed themselves to doubles competition should not be underestimated. The organizers would certainly have wanted bigger names on the podium, but Errani and Vavassori did a disservice to their discipline.

Is doubles dying out?

It’s no secret that the desire to cancel doubles is no longer rare among tournament organizers. The doubles competitions cost the tournaments a lot of money, but ticket demand is primarily based on singles.

The outcome of the mixed doubles at the US Open in the summer showed that investing in doubles could also be worthwhile. The US audience was very impressed by the Italian duo, who always had the crowd on their side during the duels. But who takes a longer path when quick success is possible with the names Sinner, Alcaraz and Zverev? The question is rhetorical.