Sinner turned 24 years old on Saturday, while Alcaraz is 22. All of this is to say it’s not a surprise that top-ranked Sinner and Alcaraz are meeting in the finals of the 2025 Cincinnati Masters, one of the biggest non-Grand Slams on the tennis calendar and the warmup event for the U.S. Open.

With the revamped US Open mixed doubles starting on Tuesday, BBC Sport looks at the positives and negatives of the controversial change.

The new U.S. Open mixed doubles tournament drew plenty of criticism for everything from its format to its field