"Originally I kind of iced him because I was planning on playing with Ben" - Alexander Zverev gets wish of playing with Taylor Townsend at US Open despite not being first choice

Taylor Townsend is an accomplished doubles player. A three-time doubles Grand Slam champion and a former World No.1, the American was a key target for Alexander Zverev for the US Open mixed doubles event. He got his wish, but that was despite Townsend having eyes on someone else.

The mixed doubles tournament will take place from August 24-26 with some of the best players in the world taking to the court to compete for the major title in the contentious but thrilling format. While there has been complaints over this new tournament after its introduction last year, it is back for another year with the stars emerging once more.

Top ATP and WTA talents will team up on the big stage and compete against one another in a very unique set-up. While the singles players were the main attraction, it was an actual doubles pair who took home the glory. Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori were the reigning champions going into the event, and backed it up with another title and will be one of the favourites to seal another one.

The US Open is the only doubles tournament that Townsend has failed to lift. She won Wimbledon in 2024, Australian Open in 2025 and the Roland Garros earlier this year, all with Katerina Siniakova.

She did reach the final of the 2024 US Open mixed doubles but lost to that Italian duo alongside Donald Young. Townsend will hope to reverse her luck this time around, and will have an accomplished Grand Slam champion by her side.

It was not the German who was Townsend's first target. Last year, she played alongside fellow American Ben Shelton but did not have the success they would have hoped. After defeating Holger Rune and Amanda Anisimova but would lose in the next round to Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison.

Zverev also lost against this pair alongside Belinda Bencic in 2025. He was willing to switch partners with Townsend on her horizon. He got his wish as the 30-year-old explained in her press conference while currently competing at the Canadian Open.

"He took me by surprise, actually. He asked me to play after the Gael [& Friends doubles event]. Originally I kind of iced him because I was planning on playing with Ben," she explained.

"And then Alex went into the locker room and asked Ben, 'Hey Ben are you playing [USO mixed]?' And Ben was like, 'No, I'm not playing.' So he came back to me and said, '[Ben's] not playing.' So I said, 'Alright, let's play then!'"

It is a formidable lineup that could very much challenge for the title. Zverev has already won a doubles title this year alongside very good friend Marcelo Melo in Acapulco. He does not regularly compete in this category unless it is alongside the Brazilian, but he will happily switch allegiances for this tournament with Townsend as he searches for a first Grand Slam doubles title.