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Emma Raducanu wants more mixed doubles after 'a lot of fun' with Carlos Alcaraz


Emma Raducanu wants more mixed doubles after 'a lot of fun' with Carlos Alcaraz

Emma Raducanu hopes other grand slams will follow the US Open's mixed doubles format after having "a lot of fun" playing alongside Carlos Alcaraz.

The doubles adventure of Alcaraz and Raducanu might have come to a premature conclusion after just 50 minutes at the hands of Jack Draper and Jessica Pegula but its implications have been longer lasting.

"I think it would be so fun if all the slams got involved and did something similar, even if it was not the exact same format," Raducanu said ahead of the main US Open event.

The "reimagined" version of the mixed doubles was moved to the preliminary week at Flushing Meadows and offered a $1m (£740,000) first prize.

Some may consider it a gimmick, but the biggest singles stars in the game were brought on board, with Alcaraz, Raducanu, Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek taking part.

"I think it was a huge success," Raducanu said. "I think so many fans got involved, so many people watching and tuned in. It got a lot of attention.

"I think it was a great idea. And I had a lot of fun on the court playing with Carlos."

The doubles event lasted just two days, with no third sets and no advantages, just a next point wins at deuce. But the fans who almost packed out Arthur Ashe did not seem to mind the condensed format, or the length of matches, despite some protests from doubles specialists.

Raducanu and Alcaraz might have spurned the traditional tactic of disguising their messaging to each other with the tennis ball, but as of yet no other major has elected to follow suit.

Away from the spectacle of the doubles court, Raducanu has been enjoying an improvement in her swing, overseen by her new coach Francis Roig.

Since Nick Cavaday, Raducanu's childhood mentor from Bromley Tennis Centre, was forced to step down due to health issues, she has worked with Vladimir Platenik for just a couple of weeks, and Mark Petchey, who had to split coaching duties with his role as a broadcaster.

Roig, a former coach of Rafael Nadal, recently joined Raducanu's entourage ahead of the Cincinnati Masters where she showed some of her best tennis in a hard-fought three-set defeat to world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Although the result ended the same way as the one at Wimbledon just a couple of months previously, the difference was evident.

Raducanu has settled into a more consistent rhythm since then, overseen first by former coach Petchey and now Roig.

"I always knew Mark helped me so much over the last few months since Miami, but we always knew it was going to be difficult to keep things going forward with his commitments and everything," Raducanu explained.

"After Wimbledon, it was quite a good match with Aryna [Sabalenka]. I think quite a lot of people watched it. I think it helped my case, so I'm happy about that."

Roig only took over ahead of Cincinnati, so his impact may not be obvious immediately, but his vocal presence from the player's box will certainly be noticed.

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