One of the best things about our sport is how the two tours often ebb and flow with one another. For the last two decades, The Big Three dominated the ATP while the WTA was largely a story of Serena vs. an unpredictable field.
The doubles game is no exception, although the script has been flipped between tours in the 2020s decade. Today’s WTA doubles landscape features a few perennial powerhouse teams and veteran players who have won a lion’s share of the big titles in recent years. In the post-Bryan Brothers era, the ATP doubles game has experienced far more parity since the record-breaking American doubles team retired in 2020.
The U.S. Open, however, has been the parity outlier on the men’s tour. American Rajeev Ram and Brit Joe Salisbury, the reigning three-time U.S. Open champions from 2021-2023, headline doubles action this year as they make an unprecedented attempt to capture a fourth consecutive title in Flushing Meadows. In addition to Ram and Salisbury, several other players will be vying for history this year on the sport’s biggest stage in Flushing Meadows.
Grab your honey deuces and popcorn – here are seven storylines we’ll be following closely at the 2024 U.S. Open.
1. Rajeev Ram, Joe Salisbury Embark on Four-Peat Quest
In their sixth full season as a pair, Ram and Salisbury have remained a constant force atop the ATP doubles game since first uniting in 2019. They have won one major each of the last four years and have advanced to the ATP Finals for five consecutive seasons.
No matter how their season has started, Ram and Salisbury always seem to find their doubles magic at the U.S. Open. The American-Brit pairing have won 18 matches in a row at Flushing Meadows, claiming three consecutive trophies in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Last year, they became the first ATP doubles team in tournament history to accomplish the U.S. Open three-peat.
Can Ram and Salisbury break their own record and make it four this year? Here’s a look back at their past three U.S. Open victories:
- 2021: Ram/Salisbury d. Jamie Murray/Bruno Soares 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
- 2022: Ram/Salisbury d. Wesley Koolhof/Neal Skupski 7-6, 7-5
- 2023: Ram/Salisbury d. Matt Ebden/Bopanna 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
Related Podcast
Olympic Silver Medalists Interview: Americans Rajeev Ram & Austin Krajicek recap their silver medal run and Olympic experience at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
2. Gaby Dabrowski, Erin Routliffe Prepare for Title Defense
In what perhaps was an unlikely pairing at first, Gaby Dabrowksi and Erin Routliffe have turned into the most consistent and successful WTA doubles teams on tour for the last 12 months. For doubles purists, they are easy on the eye with their attacking, rush-the-net game style.
Since teaming up last summer, the 2023 U.S. Open champions have posted a 44-17 record (72%) with a resume that includes three titles, five finals, and four semi-final appearances. Seeded No. 16 last year, Dabrowski and Routliffe went on an improbable run to win the title, marking the first women’s doubles major for both players. Since then, the Canadian-Kiwi team hasn’t looked back.
They come into New York in fine form after finishing runner-up at the National Bank Open in Toronto, falling narrowly to Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk. The following week, world No. 1 Routliffe also went on to win the Cincinnati Open alongside good friend Asia Muhammad in Dabrowksi’s absence.
The top seeds face a tricky opening match against a familiar Canadian opponent and partner in Leylah Fernandez, who is teaming up with the feisty Yulia Putinsteva. This is arguably the biggest popcorn first round women’s doubles match.
Related Podcast
Bruce Lipka Interview: The world No. 1 doubles coach talks about his journey with Erin Routliffe from outside the top 50 all the way to the top.
3. Katerina Siniakova Goes for 2024 Slam Three-Peat
With nine majors and two gold medals on her resume, Katerina Siniakova has proven capable of doubles success no matter her partner. She comes into Flushing Meadows riding 12 consecutive doubles wins at majors this year, having accomplished the “Channel Slam” earlier this summer.
Siniakova teamed with Coco Gauff on a whim to win the French Open before joining forces with Taylor Townsend weeks later to claim the Wimbledon doubles crown at the All England Club. The occasion marked a debut doubles major for both Americans, while Siniakova claimed her ninth grand slam title.
With a win in New York, Siniakova would become the first player to win three consecutive titles in the same calendar year (and with multiple partners) since Martina Hingis in 1998. She will enter the U.S. Open with the rowdy New York crowd on her side, playing alongside Townsend as the No. 3 seeds. They open against Lucia Bronzetti and Liudmila Samsonova.
4. Hsieh Su-Wei Eyes Career Doubles Slam
With 35 career doubles titles and nine doubles majors, 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei has won just about every title in the book…except the U.S. Open. Well, for now anyway.
After taking 18 months off tour, the crafty, quirky veteran and fan-favorite has made quite the splash on the doubles circuit upon her return. Since May 2023, Hsieh has won three out of five women’s doubles majors she has competed in with three different partners:
- 2023 Roland Garros: Xinyu Wang
- 2023 Wimbledon: Barbora Strycova
- 2024 Australian Open: Elise Mertens
A two-time U.S. Open semifinalist in 2012 and 2023, Hsieh will team up with Mertens in her quest to conquer the career grand slam at Flushing Meadows. Hsieh’s crafty net play and doubles instincts paired with Mertens’ steady baseline game and soaring lob make this team a fun watch and dangerous opponent no matter who they’re playing.
The No. 2 seeds face a tough opener against a pair of former multi-grand slam champions who know how to play good doubles, Kristina Mladenovic and Shuai Zhang.
Related Podcast
Paul McNamee Interview: The veteran Aussie doubles star talks about his playing career, doubles strategy, and experience coaching Hsieh Su-wei.
5. Top Seeds Granollers, Zeballos Look to Capture First Major
The No. 1 ATP doubles team of Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos have been a pillar of consistency throughout their partnership. This year alone, The Spanish-Argentine duo has reached the No. 1 ranking together after compiling a 38-11 record (78%) with two titles and three finals. The key missing ingredient on their doubles resume? Winning a first doubles major. And it’s a noticeable one.
Granollers and Zeballos are 0-3 in grand slam finals as a pair, coming up short at the 2019 U.S. Open and twice at Wimbledon in 2021 and 2023. They have also made the semi-finals of all four majors.
Granollers is 0-5 in career grand slam finals on his own. In 2014, he advanced to the finals of Roland Garros and the U.S. Open with fellow Spaniard Marc Lopez, but came up short on both occasions.
Can the world No. 1 team get over the hump to claim their first major title? It’s starting to feel like now or never for the 38 and 39-year-old veterans.
6. Americans Roll Deep Despite Missing Big Stars
For American tennis fans, there are two noticeable absences in the doubles draw: Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula. With their disappointing Olympics doubles campaign and a mediocre 2024 doubles season now in the rearview mirror, both top Americans have decided to put doubles on the back burner for now while focusing on their singles careers.
Even despite Gauff and Pegula’s absence, American doubles is full of talent and depth with several title contenders across the women’s and men’s field. Currently, there are eight U.S. women ranked inside the doubles top 30 and five American men ranked inside the top 40.
Related Podcast
Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin Interview: The dynamic American doubles pair talks about their success this season with an end goal of the WTA Finals in Saudia Araba in sight.
Two of the most in-form American teams come into New York with a pair of hardcourt titles under their belt. On the women’s side, Caroline Dolehide & Desirae Krawczyk won their first WTA 1000 title together at the National Bank Open in Toronto with a three-set victory over Dabrowski and Routliffe. Asia Muhammad, who recently broke into the top 20, posted title victories in both Washington and Cincinnati alongside Taylor Townsend and Erin Routliffe.
On the men’s side, Nate Lammons & Jackson Withrow enjoyed a stellar summer hardcourt season with a 12-2 record and three titles in Atlanta, Washington (their first ATP 500 title), and Winston-Salem.
Notable players and teams to look out for include:
- Women:
- Taylor Townsend (No. 3 seed with Siniakova)
- Caroline Dolehide & Desirae Krawczyk (No. 4 seeds)
- Nicole Melichar-Martinez (No. 5 seed with Ellen Perez)
- Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Sofia Kenin (No. 8 seeds)
- Asia Muhammad (top 20 player and Cincinnati champion partnering with Heather Watson)
- Men:
- Rajeev Ram, 2024 Olympic silver medalist (No. 3 seed with Salisbury)
- Austin Krajicek, 2024 Olympic silver medalist (No. 15 seed with Jean-Julien Rojer)
- Nate Lammons & Jackson Withrow (No. 14 seeds)
- Robert Galloway (Top 40 player and Winston-Salem runner-up partnering with Julian Cash).
Without as many household American names like Gauff and Pegula who have traditionally anchored the doubles field for the last few years, it will be interesting to see if this impacts the level of coverage and promotion we see from ESPN and U.S. Open organizers throughout the event.
7. Analyzing Parity vs. Dominance in Men’s & Women’s Fields
When assessing both doubles draws, there are far more teams you would consider “in the mix” to win the title in the men’s field vs. the women’s field.
On the men’s side, seven different teams have won the last seven majors, while 15 different teams have won the last 18 majors dating back to 2020. The last team to win two slams in the same calendar year was Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, who won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2019.
This decade, the women’s game has largely been dominated by a trio of players: Katerina Siniakova, Barbora Krejcikova, and Hsieh Su-wei. The three WTA doubles titans, with nine, seven, and seven majors respectively, have combined to win 11 of the last 14 women’s doubles majors. All three players have amassed careers worthy of Hall of Fame induction in doubles alone, not to mention Krejcikova’s singles success.
Will we see the parity vs. dominance trend continue at the U.S. Open this year? Will doubles earn as much promotion and coverage without household singles stars like Gauff and Pegula in the field this year? Could Ram and Salisbury make history again by winning four titles in a row?
Follow along our social handles to find out and stay updated on all the action.
- Twitter: @HanlonWalsh, @WillBoucek and @The_TennisTribe
- Instagram: @The_TennisTribe
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