Jannik Sinner faces massive challenge ahead of US Open with mass withdrawals for mixed doubles

Italy’s Jannik Sinner has a big headache to deal with ahead of the US Open. The 24-year-old is currently taking part in the US Open, where he has cemented his spot in the semifinal after beating Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets with a score of 6-0, 6-2. Despite producing the goods on the court, Sinner is now facing a challenging situation.

The task is to find a new partner for the mixed doubles event at the US Open. The fourth and final Grand Slam of the year, for the first time, will be played in two different parts. The first part will consist of a mixed doubles event which will be played as a standalone competition with a prize money worth of $1 million up for grabs.

The competition will feature 16 teams, out of which eight will qualify directly based on the players' singles rankings, whereas the other eight will qualify via the wildcard entry. One of the teams that qualified for the main round featured Sinner with America’s Emma Navarro. That partnership, however, ended as news emerged that Navarro will now be playing in the WTA 500 event in the week before the start of the main draw of the US Open.

The reason behind that decision seems to be Navarro’s recent struggles on the hard court. Ever since playing at Wimbledon, Navarro has featured in three events and won just one match while suffering three defeats. At the DC Open, Navarro lost to Greece’s Maria Sakkari in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 7-6. At the Canadian Open, Navarro’s journey ended in the third round as she lost to Dayana Yastremska in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 6-4.

Navarro’s most recent outing came at the Cincinnati Open, where she lost her first match in the round of 64 to Germany’s Ella Seidel with a score of 6-4, 1-6, 6-4. In that match, Navarro was in a commanding position in the deciding set and was leading 4-1, but went on to lose five consecutive games and subsequently lost the match as well. According to the statement that was published on the US Open, Sinner will now have a new partner until Sunday to make himself eligible to take part in the event.

“Each of their original partners are allowed to repair up until 2 PM on Sunday, August 17 and maintain direct entry dependent on their combined team singles ranking, as of the entry deadline on July 28, with their new partner,” was the statement. According to a report by Tennis.com, Sinner’s participation in the mixed doubles competition of the US Open remains a major doubt, not only because of Navarro’s withdrawal but also because he is having a deeper run in the ongoing Cincinnati Open. Sinner’s next opponent will be France’s Terence Atmane, who cemented his spot in the last-four after beating Denmark’s Holger Rune in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-3.

Navarro was not the only player who decided to withdraw from the mixed doubles event at the US Open. Spain’s Paula Badosa and America’s Tommy Paul also decided not to feature in the competition. Badosa has decided to withdraw from the mixed doubles event after the news confirmed that she will not feature in the singles event, as she continues to recover from a back injury. On the other hand, it is not clear why America’s Paul decided not to take part in the competition.

Their partners, Britain’s Jack Draper and America’s Jessica Pegula, have now formed a new team and they have been awarded a direct entry into the competition. On the other hand, after the withdrawals of three teams, the Italian pair of Jasmine Paolini and Lorenzo Musetti has also been awarded a direct entry into the competition.