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US Open’s Mixed Doubles Shake-Up: Will Federer and Nadal Come Out of Retirement for a Fan Week Spectacle?

The US Open just dropped a game-changing bombshell—Mixed Doubles is moving to Fan Week with a drastically altered format, and Andy Roddick believes this could open the door for some of tennis’ biggest legends to step back onto the court. Could we really see Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, or even Serena Williams back in action for a high-profile doubles cameo?

The US Open just dropped a game-changing bombshell—Mixed Doubles is moving to Fan Week with a drastically altered format, and Andy Roddick believes this could open the door for some of tennis’ biggest legends to step back onto the court. Could we really see Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, or even Serena Williams back in action for a high-profile doubles cameo?

“I will tell you this, I want to put this out there right now,” Roddick said with a grin. “There are some recently retired players… I don’t know about a little Roger and Serena action.”

And what about Rafael Nadal, who remains on the comeback trail but is winding down his career?

“I don’t know what Rafa is doing right now. I am just saying, let’s throw a bomb of enthusiasm into this thing! This is just me wishing, I don’t know.”

The prospect of seeing Federer and Nadal teaming up—or even clashing in mixed doubles—would set the tennis world ablaze. Imagine Serena Williams or even Venus Williams making a surprise return. If the revamped format makes it more of a fun, exhibition-style event, the possibility of legendary cameos becomes tantalizingly real.

Not Everyone is on Board—Doubles Stars Slam the Decision

While Roddick and others see this as an exciting shake-up, established doubles players are furious. Many are calling the move a blatant dismissal of professional doubles players’ careers, reducing their opportunities on one of the sport’s biggest stages.

Jan Zielinski was particularly blunt, blasting the lack of player input.

“No communication with the players, no thought behind what it means to some people’s careers, no respect to the history and traditions,” Zielinski wrote. “Sad to see.”

French doubles star Edouard Roger-Vasselin echoed the frustration, labeling the decision “terrible” for professional doubles players who rely on Grand Slam mixed doubles for ranking points and career opportunities.

Rafael Nadal

Australian doubles specialist Ellen Perez went even further, taking to social media to call out the US Open’s decision in scathing terms:

“Tell us that you think doubles players are trash, that tradition is overrated and job opportunity is a thing of the past without actually saying it.”

A Risky Move or a Brilliant Innovation?

The new format undeniably shifts the focus away from traditional doubles and towards a more entertainment-driven experience. The wildcard system means that high-profile names—perhaps even celebrity pairings—could grab the spotlight, transforming Mixed Doubles into a fan-favorite spectacle rather than a competitive discipline.

For fans, the idea of Federer, Nadal, Serena, or even Andy Murray stepping onto the doubles court in front of roaring crowds during Fan Week is a dream scenario. But for professional doubles players, it’s yet another reminder of how their discipline often takes a back seat to singles stars.

Whether this move reinvigorates mixed doubles or sparks ongoing controversy, one thing is clear: The US Open has just shaken up the tennis world in a major way.

Rafael Nadal enjoys retirement as Spanish sport celebrates its hero: “Now is the time to organise my next chapter”

Two-time Olympic champion Nadal admitted that he has not picked up a tennis racket since retiring from the sport in November 2024.

Rafael Nadal is enjoying retirement life to the fullest.

The two-time Olympic champion brought an end to his professional tennis career in November 2024 with 92 career singles titles and 22 Grand Slams.

Nadal has since been away from the limelight but briefly stepped back into it on Tuesday (11 February) as he was honoured in a tribute event at the Spanish Olympic Committee headquarters in Madrid.

Olympians, athletes and invitees all wanted to pay their own homage to the 14-time Roland Garros champion, many desperate to meet their idol.

When the auditorium got their first glimpse of Nadal, everyone rose from their seats to clamber around him: they were in the presence of a legend.

  • Rafael Nadal’s career in numbers
  • Rafael Nadal: I hope my legacy is about who I was off the tennis court

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, along with Roger Federer, are often at the center of the ‘greatest player of all time’ debate in tennis. Here’s what a former World No. 5 with major wins over the ‘Big 3’ has to say about it.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who retired after the 2022 French Open following a remarkable 18-year career in which he won 18 singles titles, has added his voice to the ongoing debate about the greatest tennis player of all time. As many other tennis legends, his choice is between two of the biggest names in the past two decades, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

In an interview with Le Republicain Lorrain in November 2023, Tsonga, a former World No. 5, was definitive in his assessment, naming Djokovic as the best in history. “The GOAT is Djokovic. And I think he can go for 25, 26, 27… maybe 28 Grand Slam tournaments. You never know,” the 38-year-old stated.

Djokovic currently holds the record in the Open Era with 24 Grand Slam singles titles. He still continues to build on an impressive career that also includes an Olympic gold medal, 40 Masters 1000 titles, and 428 weeks as world No. 1. The Frenchman, who beat all members of the Big 3, shared similar sentiments on Instagram in 2023.

“I’m rather from ‘Djoko’ school because I’ve been around him for many years,” he wrote, after a fan asked him to choose between the Serbian and Jannik Sinner. “I think he is the most complete player on the circuit. He is the one with the most guns on his asset. And he proved again this year that the level at which he evolved has not yet been reached.”

Tsonga previously said Nadal could be the GOAT

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic
2K31J4K London, UK. 24th Sep, 2022. 23rd September 2022; O2, London England: Laver Cup international tennis tournament: Novak Djokovic of Team Europe speaks with Rafael Nadal and Rodger Federer during the break in their doubles match against Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock of Team World Credit: Action Plus Sports Images/Alamy Live News

While Tsonga now firmly places Djokovic at the top, his stance hasn’t always been the same. In 2021, during a press conference in French, Tsonga’s comments leaned toward Rafael Nadal as the greatest.

“Considering that he is five years younger than Federer, what he has done is exceptional. Today we cannot question that he was the one who won the most,” Tsonga said. At the time, Nadal was closing in on Federer’s then-record 20 Grand Slam titles.

Tsonga also added, “If he were to overtake Roger with the number of Grand Slam titles, there would definitely be no more debate on the greatest player of all time. While Nadal briefly surpassed Federer, Djokovic has since gone further and cementing his status between the three legends.

Tsonga’s impressive stats against the Big 3

Tsonga’s career featured numerous battles against Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic, and his record in these encounters highlights his exceptional talent. He is one of an elite group of players to defeat all three legends when they were ranked world No. 1.

This feat includes victories over Federer in Montreal in 2009Nadal at Queen’s Club in 2011, and Djokovic in Toronto in 2014. The only other players to accomplish this are Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro.

Tsonga is one of the only three players, alongside Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych, with wins against Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray at Grand Slam events. His triumphs include defeating Murray and Nadal during his breakthrough run at the 2008 Australian Open, Djokovic at the 2010 Australian Open, and Federer at both 2011 Wimbledon and 2013 Roland Garros.

Rafael Nadal is one of the greatest tennis players of all time. That is a fact.

His 92 career titles, including Olympic gold in 2008, speak for themselves.

But what he did on the court is not the kind of legacy the Spaniard wants to leave following his retirement.

Instead, he hopes people look back on his career with admiration for the kind of person he is.

“I hope that my legacy is that I always tried to treat others with deep respect,” he wrote for The Players’ Tribune.

“Look around you and notice the people you admire… how they treat people, what you love about them – act like them and you will probably live a happy life.

“I carried that lesson with me into every match I ever played; I was not fueled by hatred of my rivals, but a deep respect and admiration.

“I simply tried to wake up every morning and get a little bit better, so I could keep up with them. It didn’t always work! But I tried… I always tried.”

  • Rafael Nadal’s career in numbers: All titles, records and awards
  • Rafael Nadal says ‘adios’ to tennis for good

The assumption Roger Federer made about Rafael Nadal after losing to him at the Australian Open back in 2012

With the Australian Open draw now released, players are now hard at work to ready themselves for their first-round matchups in Melbourne.

Ten-time winner Novak Djokovic will look to exact revenge on 2024 Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, who beat him in last year’s semi-finals.

The Serbian star is now the only member of the ‘big three’ left competing, after Rafael Nadal retired from tennis in 2024, and Roger Federer hung up the racket in 2022.

Nadal and Federer combined for eight titles at Melbourne Park, and their absence at the event over the past few years has been noticeable.

They played several legendary matches against one another, and after one encounter in 2012, Federer revealed how he really felt about playing Nadal.

Roger Federer felt that Rafael Nadal always played his best tennis against him after losing at the 2012 Australian Open

As the number two, and number three seeds, Nadal and Federer advanced to the last four of the 2012 Australian Open, with ambitions of bringing home the title.

The pair failed to reach the final in 2011, as Nadal lost to his compatriot David Ferrer in the quarter-finals and Federer lost to Djokovic in the semi-finals.

Determined to go one better this time around the Swiss star started strongly, as he grabbed the first set in a tiebreaker.

The momentum soon switched, however, as the Spaniard took control, winning the match 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-4, to book his place in the final against Djokovic.

Federer was complimentary towards his ATP rival but frustrated after the match, as he believed that Nadal always raised his level when they played each other.

“I always think he plays a bit better against me than against other players, but that’s good for him,” he said.

“I don’t know if it’s true, it’s my assumption.

“I feel he plays really good against me.”

The now 20-time Slam champion went on to explain why he thought Nadal was able to raise his level against him.

“He’s played me that many times on clay, so maybe he always draws something out of those matches,” said Federer.

“He’s also got a winning record against me which maybe gives him extra confidence, I don’t know, yeah, I think he has a clear plan and he follows that one very well.

“Like I said, I think he just plays good, you know, and he’s obviously improved a lot on all surfaces over the years, he’s a very good player, obviously.”

Reporters told Nadal what Federer had said, and gave him the opportunity to respond.

“I play my best tennis against him when I am ready to play my best tennis, I don’t play my best tennis because it’s Roger [Federer] in front,” he said.

“Normally when I play against Roger it’s because I am playing my best tennis because I always was in finals or was in very important matches, and having good confidence because I have won a lot of matches before.

“It’s true I played a lot of good matches against him during my career, so it is something fantastic, but I believe that he played a few fantastic matches against me too during his career, during our rivalry, no?”

Federer and Nadal may have been rivals, but it was a rivalry played in good spirits, something that both made a point of reiterating after the match.

“I enjoy playing him, the crowd really gets into it, which is nice,” said Federer.

“We have a lot of respect for each other, which is good, too, I think.

“I hope it inspires future generations or other players, you know, being nice to each other on the court and all that stuff.”

Rafael Nadal

Nadal agreed as he was thankful for the rivalry he had forged with Federer.

“I enjoy playing against him, it’s always a special feeling because our matches always have been special, and especially today after a lot of ones, a lot of important moments for our careers,” he said.

“Our relationship always has been in a very positive way, so for all of these facts our matches are special, no?

“I think hopefully we will repeat soon.”

How many times did Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal play each other at the Australian Open?

Nadal may have got the better of Federer when they faced off on Rod Laver Arena back in 2012, but how many times did they play each other in Australia, and who got the better of those encounters?

The Spaniard led the head-to-head 3-1, only losing their final encounter back in 2017.

Federer battled through in five sets to get the better of Nadal in Melbourne for the first time as he claimed his fifth Australian Open title.

The match reminded many of Nadal’s win over Federer in 2009, a contest that many consider to be one of the greatest of all time.

It remains to be seen if any matches at the 2025 Australian Open can live up to the standard set by Nadal and Federer, but there isn’t long to wait now, as the competition gets underway on January 12.

Did you hear that tennis star Rafael Nadal came out as gay?

It was news to me and I cover this stuff for a living, but some BBC News users late last month got an alert saying that Nadal had indeed declared he was gay.

The problem is that Nadal did NOT come out. It was the figment of the imagination of the oxymoronic “Apple Intelligence” feature on iPhones that generated an alert to the BBC News app.

“This false notification seemingly misinterpreted an article about Brazilian tennis player Joao Lucas Reis da Silva, who is gay,” Euronews reported.

Reis da Silva became the only current active out gay tennis player to come out as gay, when on Dec. 7 he shared an Instagram post celebrating the birthday of his boyfriend, actor and model Gui Sampaio Ricardo. The AI program somehow thought “Nadal” and “Reis da Silva” were the same person.

There are other possible reasons why AI got the idea that Nadal is gay. There was a 2017 play that had the tennis legend married to a man. And the time Nadal played strip tennis against male models. And maybe it was Outsports once wondering if Nadal’s glute muscles were just too big.

Whatever the reason, AI got it wrong. Again.

This was not the only recent hallucination the Apple Intelligence feature had regarding sports.

An “AI-generated alert about Luke Littler incorrectly declared him the [world darts] champion before the final match against Michael van Gerwen had even taken place,” Euronews said. “This misleading summary was based on a BBC article covering Littler’s semifinal victory. The false notification was sent to BBC News app users, caused widespread confusion as the final was yet to start.”

The BBC was pissed, in its understated way, saying in a statement: “It is essential that Apple fixes this problem urgently — as this has happened multiple times. As the most trusted news media organization in the world, it is crucial that audiences can trust any information or journalism published in our name and that includes notifications.”

Rafael Nadal

As more and more news organizations use AI to generate alerts or news summaries, this problem will almost certainly continue.

I wonder how many more well-known athletes will falsely be reported as coming out as gay. It’s easy to see it happening, given how wrong AI can often be. It’s interesting that the BBC said errors have happened “multiple times,” which begs the question of why the service is even being used in the first place.

After regularly getting wrong answers to simple queries that now populate the top of most Google searches via its AI bot, I have learned to be skeptical about anything it says. Instead, I seek out legitimate news sources. That includes Outsports, which would have been all over any news that someone like Nadal had come out.

Subscribe to the Outsports newsletter to keep up with your favorite out athletes, inspiring LGBTQ sports stories, and more.

Rafael Nadal is spending his first Christmas as a retired man with the people that matter most to him. In new photos shared on Instagram, Nadal shared a look at his holiday season, one he has spent with his wife and child and also his cousins, aunts, and uncles.

The photos were shared earlier this week, and show Nadal participating in some of his favorite activities. It kicks off with a photo of his entire family, with all of them smiling brightly for the camera as they completed a hike.

Nadal wears a white cap and a matching shirt from his sports brand, known for its logo of a black bull. He’s accompanied by his father, Sebastian Nadal, his mother, Ana Maria Perera, and his sister, Maribel. Some of his aunts, uncles, and cousins are also in the picture, including Marta Nadal.

Rounding out the group are Nadal’s wife, Mery Perello, and their son, Rafa, who’s two years old. His face is covered by a heart emoji, with Nadal guarding his privacy.

Nadal shared photos with his different family members, including one of himself and two younger men on the beach. The three are hugging, with their feet dipped in the water, enjoying the stunning views that Mallorca has to offer.

Rafael Nadal

“Time to be with family,” Nadal captioned the post, adding a heart emoji.

Will Nadal’s son also play tennis?

Over the past year, Nadal has discussed his career and his role as a father, something he confessed he’d been looking forward to his whole life. He also discussed the possibility of his son playing tennis in the future.

He described himself as “a person who loves kids,” to the Spanish outlet El Objetivo. “All my life I’ve been clear that I want to be a father. It hurts to say this, because of everything this sport has given me… if he wants to play tennis, I’ll support him one hundred percent. But I would never stop him from doing anything. If he plays another sport, better.”

AFP has leafed through the archives to pick out some of the quotes that defined the sporting year in 2024:

Basketball

“That moment – us checking in together – is something I’ll never forget, no matter how old I get, how my memory may fade as I get older or whatever. I will never forget that moment.”

 – LeBron James on the moment he and his son Bronny became the first father-son combination to feature in the same team in an NBA match

Boxing

“No knock-out, no problem. I don’t think about it because we had a win.”

– Oleksandr Usyk after a split decision victory over Tyson Fury in the first heavyweight unification fight since 1999

Cricket

“Playing for England is the best job in the world and I’ve been privileged to do it for a long time.”

– England bowler James Anderson who ended a 20-year international career when he retired in July at the age of 41 with 704 wickets to his name

“We all know she is a once-in-a-generation player. What she was able to do tonight was incredible. The world is her oyster.”

– New Zealand captain Sophie Devine on all-rounder Amelia Kerr who steered the White Ferns to victory in the women’s T20 World Cup final

“He is the kind of player who has come on Earth to play cricket, he settles for nothing else.”

– Cricket coach Pramod Kumar on 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi becoming the youngest player to be signed by an IPL franchise.

Cycling

“Cycling has given me so much and I love the sport. I can now say that I have achieved everything that I can on the bike.”

– Record-breaking sprinter Mark Cavendish announcing his retirement 

Formula 1

“There is tension here while he remains in position. The team is in danger of being torn apart. It can’t go on the way it is. It will explode. He is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems.”

– Max Verstappen’s father Jos Verstappen speaks out against Red Bull team boss Christian Horner after he was accused of inappropriate behaviour towards a female employee. Horner was later cleared of any wrongdoing

“To stand here as a four-time world champion is something I never thought was possible. It was a very challenging season.”

– Max Verstappen after winning his fourth world championship title

Football

“We had to suffer. We had to suffer like animals.”

– Spain winger Nico Williams after his side scored late in Berlin to beat England 2-1 to win Euro 2024

“As people, as athletes, as men they have shown what they are worth. I cried with the boys.”

– Marco Tura, president of San Marino’s Football Federation, after his side secured promotion in the Nations League with their first-ever away win, 3-1 in Liechtenstein

Olympics

“After all these years putting the mental work in, it’s paid off.”

– American gymnast Simone Biles bounces back from the mental torture of the ‘twisties’ to collect three golds and a silver in Paris

“Everyone competing in the women’s category… is complying with competition eligibility rules. They are women in their passports and it’s stated in there that they are female.”

– IOC spokesman Mark Adams on the gender row that blew up over Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting

“I wanted to show the strength of performance and the presence of women in general, and Algerian women in particular.”

– Gold medal-winning Algerian boxer Imane Khelif

“I can’t go out to restaurants like I used to anymore. I can’t do my shopping alone. I wear a cap and glasses. I try to hide a little. It’s a fairly radical change in status.”

– French Olympic swimming hero Leon Marchand in the weeks after winning four individual gold medals in Paris

“This may well be the greatest sports photo of all time.”

– Australian media conglomerate News.com.au rating AFP photographer Jerome Brouillet’s Olympics-defining snap of the Brazilian Gabriel Medina

Paralympics

“All athletes and coaches who trained on the territory of Ukraine were always at risk of serious injuries and wounds, or death from Russian missiles and bomb drones. It was incredibly difficult.”

– Valeriy Sushkevych, president of the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee

“I try to think of it as making beauty out of ashes, you know, rising as a phoenix would, showing the world that regardless of your circumstances, you really can do anything that you put your heart and mind to.”

– US Paralympic archer Tracy Otto to AFP about her journey after a former boyfriend shot and stabbed her leaving her paralysed and severing her spinal cord

Tennis

Rafael Nadal

“I leave with the peace of mind that I have left a legacy, which I really feel is not just a sporting one but a personal one.”

– Rafael Nadal on his retirement at the Davis Cup finals in Malaga

“You beat me – a lot. More than I managed to beat you. You challenged me in ways no one else could.”

– Roger Federer on the retiring Rafael Nadal

“After I lost my father, it has always been my goal to put our family name in the history of tennis. I’m proud of my family that they never gave up on my dream and that they were doing everything they could to keep me going.”

– Aryna Sabalenka after winning the US Open

In a recent announcement, Rafael Nadal has left the door open to the possibility of stepping into a coaching role following his retirement from professional tennis. The Spanish tennis legend, who officially retired during the Davis Cup Finals after Spain’s quarterfinal exit, remains non-committal but hasn’t ruled out a future in coaching.

Nadal’s 2024 season was a tale of resilience and heartbreak–a comeback attempt in January was derailed by a recurring hip injury, delaying his return until spring. At 38, after competing in select clay tournaments, the 22-Grand Slam champion finally decided to hang up his racket, bringing an illustrious career to an emotional close. His uncle and long-time coach, Toni Nadal, who played a pivotal role in shaping his career, was constantly in the stands during his farewell tournaments.

When asked about the prospect of coaching, Rafael responded with characteristic thoughtfulness: “Never say never. As of today, it is too early to think about these kinds of things. I just need to organize my life. Right now, I don’t see myself in any project of this nature, but I don’t know how my life will be in one, two, or three years.”

Speculation has already begun swirling about Rafael Nadal’s potential coaching roles, including rumors linking him to fellow Spaniard and rising tennis star Carlos Alcaraz. While the 38-year-old remains undecided, his influence on the next generation of players is undeniable. A Netflix documentary series chronicling his career, including his comeback attempts and emotional farewell, is set to provide fans with unprecedented insight into his journey.

Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal’s current coach, Carlos Moya, has also discussed the possibility of the left-hander transitioning into a mentor role. During the Laver Cup, fans caught a glimpse of the Spaniard’s coaching instincts when he offered advice to Roger Federer in a tense match against Nick Kyrgios. However, the Spaniard has suggested that if he took on a coaching role, it would most likely be at his academy in Mallorca rather than on the demanding ATP Tour circuit.

Nick Kyrgios says what Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal used to do to people before they stepped on court but couldn’t to him

Nick Kyrgios is finally back on a tennis court, with the Australian having just taken part in the World Tennis League.

Kyrgios played doubles with Casper Ruud at the team event in Abu Dhabi, but their Kites side failed to reach the final two.

The former will have used the competition as preparation for the 2025 Australian Open, having last played on the ATP Tour in Stuttgart in the summer of 2023.

Kyrgios will play at the Brisbane International as further preparation, where he will partner 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.

Having overcome his rivalry with the Serbian, the Australian has entered into a relatively new tussle with Jannik Sinner.

Nick Kyrgios says what Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal used to do before stepping on court

Kyrgios wants to create a ‘riot’ against Sinner if the pair were to meet at the Australian Open, with that claim not pleasing five-time Grand Slam doubles champion Nicolas Mahut.

Mahut labelled Kyrgios’s Sinner comments “unnecessary”, with the latter now sharing his response to the Frenchman.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

“I don’t know if there’s a back-and-forth,” Kyrgios told Telecom Asia Sport. “Nicolas Mahut, on a global level, hasn’t made inroads like I have, so I’ll let that be. And I don’t think the world necessarily cares too much about what Nicolas Mahut has to say.

“I wasn’t retiring. Trust me, I was two sets away from winning a Grand Slam. I didn’t retire; I was forced to stop playing for a while.

“It was very, very hard because I was playing the best tennis of my life. It’s been about 16 months since my surgery, and I’ve done everything the right way – no shortcuts, just rehab and hard work.

“I’ve put myself in the best position I can, and now I’ll let my tennis do the talking. I have people like Mahut telling me to be realistic.

“He was an amazing doubles player, a Grand Slam champion, no doubt, but he didn’t have the singles career I’ve had.

“That’s probably why he has his opinion. But on the singles court, he never had the belief I have, so that opinion means nothing to me.

“I’ve achieved way more things playing singles than Mahut could have in his entire career. That belief is what separates players.

“[Roger] Federer, [Rafael] Nadal, [Novak] Djokovic – they were the greatest because people were defeated before they even stepped on the court with them. I don’t want to be that player. I’ll always back my ability and my belief.”

Nick Kyrgios names two best players in the world right now

Kyrgios will likely have to face the very best the ATP Tour has to offer if he wants to enjoy a lengthy stay in Melbourne, which certainly won’t be easy.

It remains to be seen what level he can operate at after his injury problems, while many star names will be out to start 2025 on a major high.

Among them are world numbers one and three Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz respectively, who shared the Grand Slam titles between them in 2024.

And it is that duo who have caught the eye of Kyrgios, who added: “There’s no doubt that Sinner, Alcaraz – these guys are the best in the world right now, hands down.

“But that doesn’t mean I won’t believe in myself. I’ll always back myself and do everything I can to compete.”