Opinion: Let's bring mixed doubles to college tennis
By Daniel Susann | @dsus_sus
A full-scale attempt to implement mixed doubles in college tennis would be a complete and utter logistical nightmare. But it would also be amazing.
Mixed doubles is hardly a focal point of modern tennis media and the modern tennis fan. Only the Grand Slams feature mixed competition, and even so, comparatively very little attention is paid to it.
This year at the 2026 US Open, just a little more than a week away, women's world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and men's No. 5 Novak Djokovic will take the court together — a bit of an exciting duo. Other interesting teams include brother and sister Preston Stearns (Ohio State, '27) and Peyton Stearns (Texas, '22), Diana Shnaider (NC State, '23) and Danil Medvedev, plus recent national champions Reese Brantmeier (UNC, '26) and Michael Zheng (Columbia, '26).
Mixed competition brings a delightful variation to the doubles game which has struggled in popularity, prompting the ATP's plan for a reduction to the men's doubles tour in 2028.
But in college tennis, its unique conditions create an opportunity for mixed doubles to flourish.
NCAA men's and women's tennis teams are forced to cooperate with their opposite-gender counterparts, whether they like it or not. Teams practice, workout and play using the same facilities on similar student-athlete schedules. Many teams hold joint practices.
Furthermore, it is fairly common for players from each team to build relationships with one another — platonic or romantic. Just imagine the storylines. That aspect doesn't need too much explanation. Based on this information, it seems like a no-brainer to create a mixed category.
The problem lies in the logistics. Each team has their own schedules which often do not line up, playing in different cities against varying levels of competition. And with conference realignment, teams are often away on road trips for weeks at a time.
That pretty much rules out the possibility of mixed play in the spring. Team season is just too chaotic.
Outside of geographic-related logistics, it would also require a shift in the way NCAA tennis operates. Men's and women's tennis are separate sports under the umbrella of NCAA athletics.
It would require a change in the sport's framework, to a classification similar to NCAA rifle, where co-ed competition is prevalent. One aspect binding the two: the championships are hosted at the same location. Everyone is already in the same place come NCAA championships, making the implementation more realistic.
Another tally on the pro-side is the splitting of the team and individual seasons. The team NCAA championships were separated from the individual NCAA championships in 2024 as the singles and doubles tournaments were moved to the fall, while the team competition remains in the spring. The implementation of a mixed doubles category would not interfere with college tennis' bread and butter which sets it apart — team-based competition.
The biggest remaining challenge is figuring out what to do during the majority of the fall season. During autumn's individual competition, teams are off at different school-hosted tournaments, or athletes are playing in pro challenger events. It might be difficult to find overlap where both teams are in the same place.
But the sport already faces this challenge at the pro level. After all, mixed doubles only takes place at the Majors for a reason. Those four events are the times where everyone is together in one place. ATP and WTA events rarely overlap. Same goes for college teams. So that reasoning is null.
One question remains: How do they select the field for the tournament if there is no regular season play? For the Majors, they use combined singles rankings along with wild cards. That would be easy to implement at the college level using the ITA rankings, and a selection committee for the remaining spots.
A mixed doubles event would do wonders to spice up the individual NCAA Championships and create a great opportunity for mixed gender storylines. Who says no?
