New joint ATP and WTA tournament is the sport’s first attempt to harness the combined forces of the male and female games
During the first week of Wimbledon in 2019, even with two grand slam singles titles up for contention, most of the attention early on came from an unexpected direction. Serena Williams and Andy Murray had announced at the last minute that they would compete together in mixed doubles and, as they marched through the early rounds, for once doubles commanded the spotlight. Williams spectacularly deflected 138mph first serves for clean winners while Murray coolly navigated the net, and this unexpected meeting of two greats provoked a jubilant atmosphere that seemed even more joyful than many other famous moments before them.
Months earlier, Williams and Roger Federer had started the season by facing each other for the first time in mixed doubles during the Hopman Cup, an instance that landed them on the front pages of newspapers around the world even though it was only an exhibition.