Neal Skupski Wins US Open Men’s Doubles Title with Christian Harrison
Neal Skupski finally had his New York ending.
Twelve months after a brutal defeat in the US Open final – three championship points squandered, a title slipping through his fingers – the Briton walked back onto Arthur Ashe Stadium with a new partner, a new script and, this time, no doubts at the finish.
Alongside American Christian Harrison, Skupski produced a flawless fortnight to win the US Open men’s doubles title, their second Grand Slam crown of the season and of their partnership. The fifth seeds did not drop a set all tournament and completed the job with a 6-4 7-6 (8-6) win over sixth seeds Tim Puetz and Kevin Krawietz.
No scars on the scoreboard. Just a straight-sets statement.
From heartbreak to hard court redemption
Skupski knows this stage too well. In 2022, he and Wesley Koolhof fell in the final. In 2023, alongside Joe Salisbury, he stood on the brink again, only to watch the title slip away after failing to convert three championship points. Those losses left a mark.
Salisbury later stepped away from the sport for a spell to deal with anxiety, a pause that reshaped both men’s careers. For Skupski, it meant a new partnership with Harrison, an American whose game and grit have quietly found a perfect match with the Liverpudlian’s sharp instincts at the net.
Their first major together, the Australian Open in January, brought an immediate reward: a Grand Slam title. New team, instant success. But New York, with its ghosts and its noise, was always going to be the real test.
One break, one chance, no let-up
The final opened tight and tense, as you’d expect from two seasoned pairs. Serve dominated early, rallies were short, and neither side blinked. Then Harrison pounced.
At 3-3 in the first set, the American stepped in on a second serve and ripped a backhand winner down the line to earn the first and only break of the match. It was a clean, fearless strike – the kind of shot that shifts a final. From there, the fifth seeds locked in, closed out the set 6-4 and took control of the scoreboard.
Puetz and Krawietz, though, are not easily shaken. The German duo steadied, held serve throughout the second set and kept Skupski and Harrison at arm’s length. No breaks, no wobble, just a long, tight march toward the tie-break that always felt inevitable.
A cruel net cord, a fierce response
When the breaker arrived, tension finally cracked the surface.
Puetz and Krawietz grabbed the mini-break they needed in dramatic fashion, a return that clipped the net cord and wrong-footed Harrison to hand the Germans a set point. For a moment, it looked like the match might stretch and the old Ashe anxiety might creep back in for Skupski.
Not this time.
Backed by a crowd that roared for home favourite Harrison, the pair saved the set point with authority and then turned the screw. The noise rose with every point, every change of direction, every lunge at the net. Skupski and Harrison surged to championship point, and the Briton stepped forward to finish it his way.
A smash at the net. Clean. Final. Unanswerable.
Skupski dropped to his knees, the weight of two lost finals and one agonising collapse finally lifting off his shoulders. Then he turned and wrapped Harrison in a hug that said everything about the journey they’ve taken in less than a year.
A career that keeps climbing
For Skupski, this is now a decorated doubles résumé turning into an elite one. The US Open crown is his third men’s doubles Grand Slam title, adding to Wimbledon glory in 2023 with Koolhof and this season’s Australian Open triumph with Harrison.
His record stretches beyond the men’s game, too. He owns two mixed doubles major titles, both at Wimbledon, won in 2021 and 2022 alongside American Desirae Krawczyk.
From the outside, it looks like a steady climb. From the inside, it has been anything but: two US Open finals lost, a partner stepping away from the sport, the pressure of returning to the same court that had twice broken his heart.
Now, at last, Arthur Ashe Stadium is part of his story for the right reason.
The question is no longer whether Neal Skupski can handle the biggest stages. It’s how many more of them he and Christian Harrison plan to conquer.
