American charge at U.S. Open includes surprising mixed doubles pairing

It has been a productive U.S. Open for the host nation so far.

Four American men–Taylor Fritz, Brandon Nakashima, Tommy Paul, and Frances Tiafoe–reached the fourth round. Fritz is already into the quarterfinals after beating Casper Ruud in four sets on Sunday afternoon.

On the women’s side, Coco Gauff and Emma Navarro are going head-to-head in a marquee fourth-round matchup and Toronto champion Jessica Pegula is looking like a very real title contender. 

There is yet another American man still alive at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center–one who is much more unlikely and under-the-radar.

Donald Young–yes, the same Donald Young who reached the U.S. Open fourth round in both 2011 and 2015–is into the mixed doubles quarterfinals with Taylor Townsend. The 35-year-old, who last played singles in September of 2023, is now a pickleball player and will hang up his rackets at the end of this tournament.

It’s a tournament that figured to be over after one match, but Young and Townsend have improbably reeled off a pair of victories to earn a place in the last eight. They knocked off Andres Molteni and Asia Muhammad in the first round before defeating Hugo Nys and Nadiia Kichenok.

“It’s been a long time,” Young said in an interview for the U.S. Open website. “I’ve been watching it on TV the last few years. They were nice enough to let me play one last time. To play with Taylor, it’s awesome. It’s kind of a full-circle moment for me.”

Given how well the entire American contingent is performing this fortnight, who knows how far they could go?

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.