The Hyped Revival of Mixed Doubles

Last year, after Carlos Alcaraz beat Miomir Kecmanović in the fourth round of the Australian Open, Jim Courier asked Alcaraz, in an on-court interview, who his favorite players were. “Well, I’m a huge fan of tennis,” Alcaraz began. He reeled off a few names: Daniil Medvedev, Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner. Courier pressed him: What about the women? “Well, I watch W.T.A. as well,” Alcaraz said. “Uhhhhh,” he said, and ran his hand through his thick dark hair. He laughed, nervously, as the crowd murmured. “No, I mean, when I can obviously. Uh, when I turn the TV on, if it is W.T.A., A.T.P., whatever, I like to watch it, obviously.”