Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper to face each other in revamped US Open mixed doubles

British No 1s Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu will face each other in the first round of the revamped US Open mixed doubles. The event has been moved to before the main tournament on 19 and 20 August, with $1m (£750,000) in prize money at stake for the winners of the 16-pair event.

Draper will play with American Jessica Pegula after their original partners, Paula Badosa and Tommy Paul, both withdrew. With both inside the top five in the singles rankings, the pair have been handed the top seeding and will kick off their campaign against wildcard pair Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz.

The winners could face 24-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic and his partner Olga Danilovic if the Serbian pair overcome Mirra Andreeva and Daniil Medvedev. Venus Williams, at the age of 45, faces Karolina Muchova and Andrey Rublev alongside compatriot Reilly Opelka.

Meanwhile, six-time Wimbledon doubles champion Gordon Reid says wheelchair tennis must keep proving its value to tournaments to help close the prize-money gap. Reid and his partner Alfie Hewett are also preparing for the upcoming US Open, which last week announced a large increase in winnings for the 2025 tournament.

But, while mixed doubles champions will now get $1m, the total pot for all wheelchair players is $1.69m (£1.25m). Reid and Hewett, who have won six titles at Flushing Meadows, with Hewett also winning four singles titles, have been a big driving force in the improvement in wheelchair tennis. And the Scottish player knows that needs to continue for the players to be rewarded more financially.

“It’s been 20 years since we started, so in terms of the age of the slams themselves, we’re obviously very fresh, very new,” Reid said. “As much as we want to obviously see an increase and the gap in the prize money closing, I think we also need to prove that we’re adding something, adding value to the tournament. Hopefully then those come hand in hand - the opportunities that we get and the prize money.