News to Me: Mixed Doubles is Essentially an Exhibition Sport
Call me naive, out-of-touch, ignorant, or just plain stupid but, until today - just about five minutes ago to be exact - I didn't know mixed doubles was only played at the professional level at the Grand Slam events.
Oh, and they play it once a year at something called the Hopman Cup ... I might have heard of it but couldn't really tell you what it is.
I learned this while reading a story about mixed doubles being added to the 2012 Olympics.
Tennis Execs Need to Put Doubles Horses Before the Cart
Once again those who watched this year's Wimbledon tournament on television here in the U.S. were treated to only a smattering of doubles matches. And once again the announcers, rather than discuss the match itself, spent most of the time talking about the lack of doubles coverage, the (failed) efforts to get more top singles players to play doubles events, and whether changes in the doubles format will help promote the sport and get more top singles players to play in the future.
