The thought of the top men’s and women’s singles players teaming up is one that has often intrigued tennis fans around the world.

Big names fell early and unexpected teams broke through to steal the spotlight on Day 1 of U.S. Open mixed doubles play, headlining an electric opener packed with upsets and standout performances.

Venus Williams and Reilly Opelka take on Karolina Muchova and Andrey Rublev at 12:30 p.m. ET today, Aug. 19. The first day of the US Open Mixed Doubles tournament is airing on the ESPN+ streaming service. Right now, ESPN+ costs $11.99/month for new subscribers.

For better or for worse, definitely for richer, and for who knows how long, the reimagined, star-spangled U.S. Open mixed doubles tournament gets underway Tuesday, Aug. 19 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.

Veteran doubles experience overcame singles stardom as defending champions Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani reached the semi-finals at the U.S. Open's reimagined mixed doubles on Tuesday, as the event kicked off with a new format and new fans.

Fans packed the lower bowl of Louis Armstrong Stadium, which is free to enter for the newly formatted two-day tournament, to see Venus Williams play in her first mixed doubles match since the 1998 U.S. Open and debut in a Grand Slam event after a two-year hiatus.

US Open takes place from August 24-September 7, with reimagined mixed doubles tournament preceding it from August 19-20 as Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper square off - watch exclusive live coverage of b

Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz might have lost in the revamped US Open mixed doubles - but they win the hearts of the New York crowd.