“People are afraid of what they don’t understand”: Taylor Townsend defends US Open mixed doubles revamp

WASHINGTON, DC—Taylor Townsend delivered an emphatic rebuke of the criticism surrounding the US Open’s decision to revamp its mixed doubles event at the Mubadala Citi DC Open on Tuesday.

“I think most people are afraid of what they don’t understand, or they’re afraid of change, because it’s something we don’t understand because it’s never been done in the history of the sport,” Townsend said after winning in both singles and doubles at the WTA 500 tournament.

The WTA doubles No. 2 is currently on the entry list alongside fellow American Ben Shelton, who she last teamed up with at the 2023 US Open, reaching the semifinals.

“She's the best mixed doubles player in the world, hands down,” Shelton said in his Media Day press conference on Sunday. “So if I was going to play, I wasn't going to play at all unless I could play with her.”

But the pair may need a wild card to compete due to the tournament’s decision to prioritize the combined singles rankings of its prospective teams. Should Townsend and Shelton opt to compete in the event, which is set to offer $1 million in prize money to its winning team, they would do so in a reduced scoring format during the tournament’s Fan Week, which precedes the start of the singles tournament.

The changes came under renewed criticism from Wimbledon mixed doubles champion Katerina Siniakova, who is on the entry list alongside ATP doubles No. 1 Marcelo Arevalo, who does not have a singles ranking.

“When two world No. 1s in doubles don’t get into the tournament, there’s probably nothing more to say about it,” Siniakova told Canal+ in comments translated from Czech.

Siniakova and Townsend have won two major women’s doubles together, including the Australian Open earlier this year, but Townsend, who reached the US Open mixed doubles final last year, is taking a more optimistic approach to the tournament.

The field is amazing, the players are spectacular, and I think it’s really cool to be able to do this during Fan Week and qualies week. You’re bringing an influx of fans, people, celebrities, all of these different energies to the tournament. Taylor Townsend on the upcoming US Open mixed doubles event

“I’m very excited to play,” said Townsend, a former Top 50 singles player currently ranked No. 97. “I’m super stoked to be able to be on the same side of the court with Ben again. We had so much fun in 2023. I’m excited about the field. I think that it’s one of those things where we’re going to have to see. Everyone has to keep an open mind and not judge it or go into looking from the lens of tradition or what things have been. This is nothing like anything that’s been done in the sport before.

“The only thing I would say is encourage everyone—players, spectators, media—to look at it from an open mind and see how it goes. Everyone is going to have an opinion, but I’m excited to play and I’m excited to see how things go. The field is amazing, the players are spectacular, and I think it’s really cool to be able to do this during Fan Week and qualies week. You’re bringing an influx of fans, people, celebrities, all of these different energies to the tournament. Sometimes, that doesn’t happen until that middle weekend when people have time off. Now, this is happening the week before school starts, so I’m excited. There’s so many things around it too, like Ashe Kid’s Day, and all the kid’s events and clinics, as well.

“I’m really excited for the viewership and the exposure to the game in this way.”

Townsend is competing at the DC Open in doubles with Zhang Shuai, and the pair will next face the all-American team of Hailey Baptiste and Venus Williams in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.