Italian veterans Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori claimed the US Open 2024 mixed doubles title on Thursday, overcoming a spirited challenge from the unseeded American duo of Taylor Townsend and Donald Young. The victory marked Errani’s fifth Grand Slam mixed doubles title and a maiden Grand Slam triumph for Vavassori in just their third major tournament together, following Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics.
Vavassori expressed his delight, stating, “It’s very special, it’s a dream come true for me to accomplish this thing with Sara. She’s an amazing person and player, I always watched her during her career. It was amazing to play with her in Wimbledon and the Olympics and here, we had fun.”
The Italian pair dominated the first set tiebreaker, ultimately securing a 7-6(0) win. They carried that momentum into the second set, breaking early to take a 3-1 lead. Townsend and Young, however, battled back to level the score at 4-4. Ultimately, the Italians held their nerve, breaking in the final game to seal a 7-5 victory.
The defeat marked the end of a long and successful partnership for Townsend and Young, who have known each other since childhood. Their journey together reached its peak with a US Open semifinal appearance in 2014. With Young’s upcoming retirement from tennis and transition to pickleball, this marked a bittersweet end to their on-court partnership. “We were a step short, but this is a dream come true for me,” Young said. “Taylor is like a little sister, I’ve grown up playing Monopoly, bullying her, having fun. To play next to her in the final of the US Open is great. Congrats to Sara and Andrea, it was awesome.”
Townsend, who also reached the US Open women’s doubles semifinals with Katerina Siniakova, experienced another near miss at the tournament. While they fell to Zhang Shuai and Kristina Mladenovic in the semifinals, Townsend and Siniakova had previously triumphed at Wimbledon this year.
