Stefanos Tstisipas confirms plans for US Open mixed doubles with Paula Badosa

Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas: US Open mixed doubles champions? After winning the tournament's mixed doubles exhibition on the "best date night ever" in 2024, the off-court couple is hoping that the real Grand Slam trophy will find a home on their mantle this summer.

Tsitsipas said Monday after beating Lorenzo Sonego in the first round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where he is seeded fourth, that he and Badosa are "planning to play" what will be a re-imagined mixed doubles competition at the year's final Grand Slam that hopes to incentivize singles player participation. Last year, the couple topped Coco Gauff and Ben Shelton, and Amanda Anisimova and Taylor Fritz, to win the one-night mixed doubles exhibition event that United States Tennis Association officials pointed to as one of the driving forces that prompted them to overhaul the actual event for 2025.

Read more: Alex de Minaur confirms US Open mixed plans with fiancée Katie Boulter

Though the USTA said that there was "a huge opportunity" to attract players to the new-look format, Tsitsipas said that he only has eyes for Badosa as his partner.

"She's the mixed doubles partner I would always play with," the Greek said. "I don't have any other options out there or any other female player that I would want to play mixed doubles with. She's always under my consideration and always someone I would want to share the court with."

Nonetheless, Badosa and Tsitsipas are the latest big names to confirm interest in participating in the competition since the USTA announced earlier this month that the competition would officially take place alongside qualifying during its annual Fan Week—rather than during the tournament’s second week—that sets will be played to four games instead of the traditional six, and that the field will consist of 16 teams with eight wild cards. Taylor Fritz and Jessica Pegula, both quoted in the USTA's press release announcing the changes, have expressed interest, as have fiancées Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur, as well as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Read more: Reigning champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori slam US Open mixed doubles changes

“I’d like to play. I believe it’s like two-days’ event. I always enjoy playing doubles. It’s like little fun sort of exhibition," Sabalenka said last week in Dubai. “It always gives me good energy and always helps me to play well in the tournaments. I might. I think it’s going to be fun to play.”

However, Coco Gauff will not be competing. While conceding in Doha that the innovations were "interesting," the 2023 US Open winner said that the positioning of the event will "take away" from her main-draw preparations.

“It’s one of those things that I feel like I have to wait and see how it pans out over time, pans out after it happens and see how it can affect the sport in the whole," she said.