NEW YORK, UNITED STATES – AUGUST 19: Jessica Pegula (R) of USA and Jack Draper of the United Kingdom (L) play against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Emma Raducanu of the United Kingdom during the mixed doubles at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 19, 2025, in Queens, New York City, USA. (Photo by Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(August 19, 2025) Top seeds in the US Open mixed doubles Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper never said more than a few words to each other before teaming up. They are speaking volumes with their play at the US Open. They have reached the semifinals with first a win over the team of Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz, followed by a quarterfinal victory over Mirra Andreev and Daniil Medvedev 4-1, 4-1. The event is using the “Fast 4 Format.”
“I played mixed before here. It’s the same., Pegula said. “Obviously it’s shorter and it’s faster. I mean, in mixed, it’s the same thing, it’s the same feeling. It’s no-ad, 10-point tiebreaker. I think here, yeah, you want to start fast and take care of your service games. Anytime you get a chance to break early on is huge. I mean, that’s what we’ve been doing really well I think the last few matches.
“It doesn’t feel that much different to me. I try and problem solve. I feel like that’s part of tennis that makes it fun. Other than that, it feels pretty similar. “
“I was supposed to play with Tommy (Paul),” said Pegula. “ That got kind of rearranged. I feel like you’re a way better doubles player than I thought. I don’t know how much you played doubles. But he’s, like, calling things, wants to be super aggressive in formations and stuff like that. That was great. I feel like, yeah, I wasn’t expecting that. I felt like once we got that going, it seemed like it was going to be a better partnership than maybe I even thought.
“I didn’t really know what to expect. It’s been, yeah, a lot of fun.
“I like learning how people think, too, just the decisions that we make, kind of what’s going on in his head, stuff like that. “
“Really, really pumped to play,” Draper said.” Obviously, like I said, I haven’t competed at all. That’s the reason why I play tennis, the reason why I love tennis, is competing.
“To have the opportunity to play the mixed doubles, I mean it’s a bit of fun, exhibition, whatever, but I’m enjoying it because I’m able to actually get my eye in a little bit before the tournament starts. Yeah, embracing that. “
“It feels a little bit different ’cause obviously you’re playing and being competitive so quickly,” said the American.” At the same time, I mean, I think you snap back into it really fast.
“It’s always fun just to be on Ashe and playing in front of a full crowd. It’s been awesome. He’s coming back from injury. Taking that into perspective, playing at a high level is really cool. I don’t think you can take that for granted. I’ve loved that aspect of it. “
“Anytime you can get out there and get extra reps and compete and win matches, I mean, that’s why we play. To me, it doesn’t really matter.
“It feels a little weird just because you’re trying to still maybe get a practice in, but also play the event. Your schedule’s a little bit weird. I feel like it’s early enough in the week where it doesn’t feel like it’s going to take away anything. We still have quite a few days once it’s over before the singles start. “ They will take on the team of Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud the semifinals.
