Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz partnership fears grow before US Open link-up

There are fears that Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu may be the next duo to withdraw from the mixed doubles at the US Open. Despite the Grand Slam's efforts to attract high-profile participants by altering the event's format this year, several teams have already withdrawn.

The United States Tennis Association has introduced a new two-day format, scheduled for the week before the singles draw, with the winners pocketing £742k. Eight entrants will be given a spot in the tournament based on their combined singles rankings, while eight others will receive wildcards.

This revamped format has attracted some notable pairings, including world No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, who are partnering with Emma Navarro and Grigor Dimitrov respectively.

Additionally, Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek is set to play with Casper Ruud, and Novak Djokovic with Olga Danilovic.

However, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa have withdrawn amid rumours the tennis couple have split up. Meanwhile, Jack Draper and Qinwen Zheng have also opted out of the event, which is slated for August 19-20.

According to The Sun, Alcaraz and Raducanu might follow suit to concentrate fully on the singles at Flushing Meadows.

Raducanu famously left Andy Murray in the lurch at Wimbledon in 2024 for the same reason - and the duo are likely depending on a wildcard to compete anyway, given Raducanu's singles ranking of 46th in the world may not be sufficient for automatic qualification.

A potential withdrawal is made even more likely by the fact Alcaraz opted out of the Canadian Open to manage a niggle post his Wimbledon final. He expressed his need for recovery on social media: "I have small muscle issues and I need to recover physically and mentally for what comes next," he penned.

The anticipation surrounding their partnership, which Alcaraz revealed during Queen's, could be dampened. Reflecting on Raducanu's contemplation over his offer, Alcaraz remarked: "She took a while," and added with a hint of jest: "No, not that much...But obviously she had to ask, and she had to think a little bit. But it wasn't immediate, so.."

Raducanu, who was quizzed on the delay in making a decision, quipped: "Gotta keep 'em on their toes. I mean, of course, I had to ask my team if they wanted me to play.

"But for me, when he asked me, I was going to say yes, I just had to kind of go through the formality of asking my coach, so I didn't just make the decision."

Alcaraz then chimed in with his thoughts on their upcoming mixed doubles partnership: "She's going to be the boss. The US Open came to us and gave us the opportunity to play mixed doubles. I'm super excited about it, it's going to be great, it was an amazing idea from the tournament.

"I've known Emma since a long time ago - I have a really good relationship with her so it's going to be interesting. We are going to enjoy for sure, I'll try to put my doubles skills on and we'll try to win."