'We'd never talked, we only met on Friday, but we're a Grand Slam doubles team'

Jannik Sinner is targeting Carlos Alcaraz's Wimbledon title after losing to the Spaniard in the French Open final Jannik Sinner and Emma Navarro have plenty in common. Both are incredibly successful tennis players in their early 20s, both have had deep runs at Wimbledon but want more, and both have focused almost all their tennis energy so far on singles. At the US Open in August, they will play doubles together. On Friday, they spoke for the very first time in their lives. "It was very unexpected to be honest," Italian world number one Sinner told reporters at the All England Club, when asked about the partnership. "I just met her on Friday for the first time. We'd never talked or texted each other." This year's US Open mixed doublesis being held as a standalone eventon 19-20 August before the hard-court Grand Slam begins on 24 August, a move by the United States Tennis Association which said it hoped would attract more high-profile singles players. Sinner and Navarro are one of several eye-catching pairings who have been put together for the tournament where British number one Emma Raducanu and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz are also due to join forces. The general presumption in doubles is that the better you know a person, the better you play together. But Sinner and Navarro can take confidence from the examples of unexpected pairings going on to win slams. For instance Heather Watson and Henri Kontinenwon the 2016 Wimbledon mixed doubles titledespite never playing together before the tournament and colliding with each other several times during the final. "The tournament kind of wanted us to play together because certain teams were already set up," Sinner explained at Wimbledon, where he faces fellow Italian Luca Nardi in the first round on Tuesday. "The choice was not big but I'm very happy to play with Emma. I told her already to not get frustrated with me for my not-very-good volleys." He then joked: "I hope [we meet up] before the first time we walk out on court." World number 10 Emma Navarro reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals last year Sinner is a three-time Grand Slam singles champion having won the past two Australian Open titles and last year's US Open, but has never played a doubles match at a slam. Australian Open and Wimbledon quarter-finalist Navarro, who also reached the US Open semi-finals last year, specialises in singles but has made several Grand Slam doubles appearances. But she has never won a doubles match at the US Open. Sinner is the world's number 589 in men's doubles whereas Navarro is ranked at 505 by the WTA. A host of big names - including Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek, Nick Kyrgios and Naomi Osaka - are also on the US Open mixed doubles entry list. Britain's Jack Draper is set to feature alongside Chinese world number six Zheng Qinwen. Sinner predicted the new tournament will be "very exciting for the fans" and "the best singles players playing doubles is always something fun to watch". Jannik Sinner (centre) has parted company with physiotherapist Ulises Badio (left) and trainer Marco Panichi (right) Sinner is confident his decision to part with two core team members on the eve of Wimbledon will not affect his tournament chances. He opted to move on from trainer Marco Panichi and physiotherapist Ulises Badio who had been employed by the 23-year-old since September 2024, helping him retain his Australian Open title in January and reach the French Open final in June. "I parted ways not long ago, but it's not affecting me," said Sinner. "I feel ready to compete. I feel free. "We've reached incredible results in the past with them, so obviously huge thanks to them. But I decided to do something different." Sinner reached the quarter-finals of last year's Wimbledon where he was beaten in five sets by Russian Daniil Medvedev.