In this guide
Four games changes the set’s targetNo-ad removes the repeated advantage cycleOne set each leads to a match tie-breakCompare scorecards by their unitsKeep this explanation tied to the 2026 eventA 2026 US Open mixed doubles score could reach the end of a set much sooner than a familiar singles score. Through the semi-finals, the competition used sets to four games, with a tie-break at four-all.
It also used no-ad scoring and a ten-point match tie-break instead of a third set. These were specific rules for the mixed championship, not changes to every US Open match.
Four games changes the set’s target
In the early mixed rounds, reaching four games was part of the shortened set format. At four games all, a tie-break resolved the set. A score graphic showing 4–4 was therefore at a set’s tie-break boundary, rather than simply moving toward six under the singles convention.
The final changed the target back to six games, with a tie-break at six-all. The draw stage therefore mattered to the interpretation. A final recording and a semi-final recording belonged to the same mixed event but did not use identical game targets.
No-ad removes the repeated advantage cycle
No-ad scoring uses a deciding point at deuce rather than repeatedly returning through advantage and deuce. This is why a game at 40–40 can be presented as immediately decisive. The next point has a specific role under that scoring format.
Do not assume that the same instruction applies in a singles match merely because it follows the mixed programme. The competition and discipline establish the scoring rules; a shared stadium does not merge them.
One set each leads to a match tie-break
When the mixed teams split the first two sets, a ten-point match tie-break decides the match instead of a full third set. The tie-break is the replacement for that set, not a tie-break played after the teams have already reached six-all within a third set.
Imagine fictional teams A and B winning one set each in an early round. Their next scoring contest is the match tie-break. They do not need to play games toward four-all in a third set first. This example describes the route and does not invent a real match result.
Compare scorecards by their units
A singles line can show full sets, while the mixed line may end with a match tie-break score. The final number is still meaningful, but it represents a different unit. A bracketed 10–7 is not a ten-game-to-seven set if the format has specified a match tie-break.
Reading the format before comparing scorelines prevents a short mixed match from being described as incomplete simply because it lacks a conventional third-set game score.
Keep this explanation tied to the 2026 event
The mixed championship was part of a separate programme within the US Open event period. Preserve mixed doubles, round and year in an archive title. Those details explain both when the match belongs in the event and why its scoring differs from the singles programme a viewer may know best.