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The US Open was the first Grand Slam to introduce the Mixed Doubles format in tennis. It was part of the inaugural edition of the US Open in 1887. Wimbledon followed and introduced Mixed Doubles only in 1913. Later, the Australian Open and the French Open introduced the format in 1922 and 1925 respectively.
Very few tournaments apart from the Grand Slams host mixed doubles events, the most notable among them being the Hopman Cup played annually in Australia and the Summer Olympic Games (1912-1920 and most recently from the London 2012 Games onwards).
Margaret Court Smith of Australia has not only won the most Singles Grand Slam titles across all eras but also the most Mixed Doubles Grand Slam titles across all eras with 21 titles. In 1963 and 1965, Court completed the Calendar Slam in Mixed Doubles with her partner - Ken Fletcher.
We focus our discussion on seven players with the most Mixed Doubles titles in the Open Era:
Marty Riessen
A member of the US Davis Cup Team in the 1960s and early 1970s, Marty Riessen was a versatile player. Though his game was more suited to Doubles, he enjoyed fairly good success in Singles too winning 18 Singles titles and attaining a career-high ranking of 8.
Riessen forged a successful partnership with Australian legend Margaret Court Smith and he won 6 of his 7 Grand Slam Mixed Doubles titles with her.
Marty Riessen also won 2 Grand Slam Doubles titles including the 1971 French Open with the legendary Arthur Ashe.
Billie Jean King
One associates the name Billie Jean King with activism, gender rights, Grand Slam titles won and the famous Michael Jackson song.
With 12 Grand Slam Singles titles, 16 Grand Slam Doubles titles and 11 Grand Slam Mixed Doubles titles, Billie Jean King has practically achieved everything that there is to achieve in tennis.
Awards have been continued to be bestowed upon King for years. From winning the Presidential Medal of Freedom to being named TIME Person of the Year to having the national Tennis Centre named after her, she has racked up the awards even after her retirement.
Billie Jean King won her Grand Slam Mixed Doubles titles with numerous partners - Dick Crealy, Owen Davidson, Bob Hewitt, Phil Dent. However, most of her 11 Grand Slam titles were won in tandem with Australian Owen Davidson.
Bob Bryan
The younger of the two Bryan twins, left-handed Bob Bryan has one of the best serves in the Doubles game. Along with his brother Mike, the duo have won 16 Men's Doubles Grand Slam titles. However, in Mixed Doubles, it is Bob who has tasted more success.
Bob has won 7 Mixed Doubles titles (all except the Australian Open) with 6 different partners - Victoria Azarenka, Liezel Huber, Samantha Stosur, Katarina Srebotnik, Vera Zvonareva and Martina Navratilova. At the 2006 US Open, a 50-year-old Martina Navratilova won her last Grand Slam title along with Bob Bryan in Mixed Doubles.
Martina Hingis
Teenage sensation Martina Hingis took the tennis world by storm in the mid-1990s setting numerous youngest-ever records. She won a Grand Slam Doubles title at Wimbledon aged just 15 and the following year became the French Open Singles champion at the age of just 16.
However, it was only in her second spell on the WTA Tour after coming out of retirement that she started playing in the Mixed Doubles format. In the second and third stints of her career, she focussed mainly on Mixed Doubles and Doubles. She won 7 Mixed Doubles titles including 4 with Leander Paes, 2 with Jamie Murray and 1 with Mahesh Bhupathi.
Mahesh Bhupathi
The present Indian Davis Cup Captain Mahesh Bhupathi was one of two great male Doubles tennis players to emerge from India. His camaraderie and later following out with fellow Indian tennis great Leander Paes made a lot of headlines back in the day. The two combined to win 3 Grand Slam Singles titles.
Mahesh enjoyed more success in the Mixed Doubles format. In his 19-year tennis career, Mahesh Bhupathi had 27 Mixed Doubles partners, winning Grand Slam titles with 7 different partners - Martina Hingis, Sania Mirza, Rika Hiraki, Elena Likhovtseva, Mary Pierce, Ai Sugiyama, Daniela Hantuchova. Two of them, including the 2009 Australian Open and the 2012 French Open came with India's Sania Mirza.
In 1997, Mahesh Bhupathi won the 1997 French Open Mixed Doubles title with Japan's Rika Hiraki. The two made history as the first ever winners of a Grand Slam title from their respective countries.
Leander Paes
Leander Paes is arguably the greatest Indian tennis player of all-time. At the age of 46, Leander still continues to go through the grind and competes at the highest level.
No player has won more Davis Cup Doubles matches than Leander with 43. He has participated in 7 Olympic Games, representing India, and is probably eyeing the 2020 Tokyo Games as well.
Leander is one of the greatest Doubles and Mixed Doubles players of all-time, completing a Career Slam in both the formats. In addition to his 8 Grand Slam Doubles titles, Leander Paes has won 10 Mixed Doubles titles till date. He has played with 121 different Doubles partners and 25 Mixed Doubles partners till date.
Leander Paes is the only man apart from the great Rod Laver to have won a Wimbledon title across 3 different decades.
Martina Navratilova
With 59 Grand Slam titles across all categories, Martina Navratilova is among the top 3 or 4 greatest tennis players of all time. The 'Iron Lady' of Tennis played professionally for 31 years right from her teens to her early 50s.
One of only 3 women to win the 'Boxed Set of Grand Slams' - winning all 4 Majors across all 3 Categories, Martina Navratilova's achievements will be talked about for decades to come.
Martina made winning a habit throughout her career and her 167 Singles titles and 177 Doubles titles are second to none.
Martina started pursuing Mixed Doubles seriously as she grew older and she won titles in her late 30s, 40s and even one in her 50s - making her the only tennis athlete to do so at that age.
Navratilova won 10 Mixed Doubles titles, the last of which came at the 2006 US Open alongside her partner - fellow American Bob Bryan. Navratilova was 50 years old at the time and it was her last ever Grand Slam.
