They do it for the love of tennis. They do it even though it hurts.
At the US Open the quest for a “triple crown”—winning titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles—begins every year with fresh faces, high hopes and confidence. Sometimes it doesn’t end that way, however.
Most times, in fact.
Not since 1987, when legend Martina Navratilova won all three disciplines for the first time since Margaret Court in 1970 at the US Open, has a player achieved the feat.
This year in Flushing Meadows 14 brave players entered all three draws, including America’s two top-ranked women and three former Grand Slam singles finalists. By Day 7 the dream was over for all of them.
That’s the reality—and there are reasons for that.
“Tennis is one of the sports where you have to be able to play every day and you don’t ever know your schedule, sometimes you have to finish late and you have to play early, for sure it’s difficult,” 2010 US Open singles runner-up Vera Zvonareva told USOpen.org.
Zvonareva says that playing all three disciplines can turn into a scheduling nightmare, but it’s always worth trying, she says.
“You only get the chance to play Grand Slams four times a year, and mixed only four times a year,” she says.
Now 38, Zvonareva has spent two decades in the trenches, grinding away in all three disciplines, and she has notched multiple US Open titles—she claimed doubles titles in Flushing Meadows in 2006 and 2020, as well as the mixed crown in 2004.
Zvonareva says the endgame isn’t really achieving the “triple.” It has been 36 years since Navratilova’s epic tournament at Flushing Meadows, and in that time the game has become considerably more physical, making the stringent demands of playing—and winning—all three events virtually impossible.
In reality, what Zvonareva and others like her pine for is the chance to raise any of the three trophies. By playing all three, the odds go up. That’s why 14 players signed up for long odds, and longer hours.
“It’s also the status of a Grand Slam,” Zvonareva says. “It’s an opportunity to go for it, and if you are in good form and you’re playing great and you get the title, it’s something that you have forever, so I guess that’s something that motivates a lot of players.”
Ben Shelton, the rocket-serving southpaw who defeated Tommy Paul to reach his maiden US Open quarterfinal on Sunday in New York, punched his ticket into all three events.
On his day off from singles on Monday, Shelton took to the doubles court in a mixed quarterfinal alongside Taylor Townsend, who also played all three disciplines during the Flushing fortnight.
Shelton, a 20-year-old dynamo with an always humming motor, says the extra energy expended is not a problem for him.
“I don't think that it's something where it's like, ‘Oh, I'm going to be so tired after my mixed doubles.’” he said. “I feel pretty good physically right now. I don't think there will be any issues.”
Shelton adds that playing doubles helps him practice his serve and his net game, and he’s genuinely happy to be playing with fellow American Townsend in search of a Grand Slam title.
“I think being able to be on the court and have a little bit more relaxed environment, having fun, but still playing for something,” he said. “I know that Taylor would love to try to get a title here. That's our goal.”
Ditto for Jessica Pegula, the No.3-seeded American who just fell out of the singles in the fourth round to Madison Keys. The Buffalo, New York, native may be done in singles, but she’s into the quarterfinals in doubles and mixed.
“I honestly love coming to play on off days,” Pegula said. “I think it’s great practice, it’s time to work on things, it helps me stay competitive, I feel like waiting around a lot of times your anxiety builds up because you are just thinking about your match. I like that I can go out and stay competitive, as long as I am feeling good.”
Pegula admits that the extra workload can create scheduling chaos. She remembers pulling out of mixed one year when she waited long into the night to play a match due to rain, but was already scheduled to play a noon singles match the next day.
Still, she is more than happy to take the risk, if that’s the price that needs to be paid.
“For me, it's fun to go out there, especially playing with an American at the US Open,” she says.
Germany’s Laura Siegemund, who is into the doubles quarterfinals with Zvonareva in New York, says the decision to play all three events is a no-brainer for her.
“I just really like to play mixed,” she said. “You just don’t get any chance during the year and I really enjoy it, and that’s what I play all three.”
The 35-year-old German told USOpen.org that some days are so busy that she doesn’t even have time to practice with her partner before matches.
“It depends on the schedule, if one has a match and the other has a practice, then you’re not practicing together, so yes it does make it very difficult,” she said, adding that they make up for it by putting in extra practice sessions before the Slams.
“You just adapt, you don’t really train, you do your training before the tournament,” she says.
