Nick Kyrgios and Alex de Minaur not included in list of US Open doubles wildcards

Tennis power couples Kyrgios-Osaka and de Minaur-Boulter have been left hanging as the US Open reveals its exclusive mixed doubles line-up.

Nick Kyrgios faces an anxious to wait to see if he’ll partner Naomi Osaka in the revamped US Open mixed doubles tournament, while Alex de Minaur’s plea to play with his British fiancee Katie Boulter also hasn’t yielded immediate results.

Neither pairing were among the six wildcards handed out by the US Tennis Association, with two spots remaining for the $1.5m event that will feature 16 pairings and be played the week before the main draw begins.

Eight pairs qualify based on rankings and eight are given wildcards, which is where the hopes of Kyrgios and de Minaur now lie.

Nick Kyrgios has to wait. Picture: Rich Storry / Getty Images North America / Getty Images via AFP

Kyrgios made a playing comeback in the doubles at the DC Open last week in an opening round loss after which he said his knee was “cooked”, which could have prompted officials to give him more time to recover before including him.

Before he took the DC Open singles title, de Minaur, the highest-ranked male player not yet in the doubles event, made a plea to US Open officials to add himself and Boulter to the draw.

“We’d be definitely asking for a wildcard, and we’re definitely hoping for a wildcard,” he said.

“I think, why not give a little bit of love to a tennis couple?

Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur would love to play mixed doubles together. Picture: Jason Koerner/Getty Images for AYS Sports Marketing

“We have been going strong, it’s been, what, five years already, getting married next year. I think we’re showing that there is good chemistry between us.

“I think some of the other partnerships, they haven’t really said a word to each other in their lives, right? At least we kind of know each other, so we can hopefully show some good chemistry and hopefully play some good matches there.”

Among the six wildcards given out, one went to 45-year-old Venus Williams to play with Reilly Opelka. World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz will also play with Emma Raducanu, while 22-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic will team up with Olga Danilovic in what looms as a star-studded event.

US OPEN MIXED DOUBLES PAIRINGS

Qualified (singles ranking in brackets)

Emma Navarro (11) & Jannik Sinner (1)

Paula Badosa (10) & Jack Draper (5)

Iga Swiatek (3) & Casper Ruud (13)

Elena Rybakina (12) & Taylor Fritz (4)

Amanda Anisimova (7) & Holger Rune (9)

Belinda Bencic (15*) & Alexander Zverev (3)

Jessica Pegula (4) & Tommy Paul (15)

Mirra Andreeva (5) & Daniil Medvedev (14)

Wildcards

Venus Williams & Reilly Opelka

Emma Raducanu & Carlos Alcaraz

Madison Keys & Frances Tiafoe

Olga Danilovic & Novak Djokovic

Taylor Townsend & Ben Shelton

Sara Errani & Andrea Vavassori

Originally published as Nick Kyrgios and Alex de Minaur not included in list of US Open doubles wildcards