Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz's partnership has divided fans after they teamed up in the US Open's mixed doubles competition. The revamped tournament saw 16 teams face off the week before the main event got underway, with entries based on singles rankings.

In the end, Raducanu and Alcaraz spent under an hour on the court and quickly lost their opening match to Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper. And the only doubles specialist team in the draw went on to lift the trophy. Now, tournament organisers have been told how to improve the mixed format.

The US Open announced an overhaul to the mixed doubles tournament earlier this year. Eight teams got in based on their best combined singles rankings, while the other eight received wildcards. The winners received a £738k ($1m) prize, and a fast-4, best-of-three set scoring system was used until the final.

In June, a provisional entry list featuring some exciting pairings was released, among them were Raducanu and Alcaraz. But by the time the tournament finally took place last month, some players and pairings had been forced to drop out.

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who had already been forced to find a new partner, withdrew citing illness. British star Draper had to repair with Pegula after their respective teammates pulled out.

And for all of the excitement surrounding 'Raducaraz', the British-Spanish duo lasted 51 minutes on the court, losing 4-2 4-2. The first-to-four-games scoring system meant they were never able to get back in the match after going down a break.

Express Sport readers are now torn over whether they enjoyed watching Raducanu team up with six-time Major winner Alcaraz. Asked whether they wanted to see them enter more tournaments together, 52 per cent of fans voted yes, and 48 per cent said no.

The overall mixed doubles competition has also sparked some division, as 54 per cent of fans said they didn't enjoy the new format. But US Open bosses can still win fans over with some tweaks to the event next year with some changes.

Doubles specialists Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori received a wildcard into the draw this year as the reigning champions, winning the regular mixed doubles tournament in 2024.

And they successfully defended their title, proving that doubles skills triumph over exciting singles partnerships.

Afterwards, Vavassori suggested a different approach for next year, perhaps pitting doubles pairings against singles stars. And Express Sport readers seem to agree, as 48 per cent want to see more doubles teams allowed to compete.

Meanwhile, 34 per cent believe regular scoring should be used, while 18 per cent want to see the mixed doubles take place during the regular two-week US Open schedule.

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