by Hanlon Walsh
All top three seeds and half of the 16-team doubles field feature all-American pairings, highlighting a strong U.S. presence at this year’s tournament. Several familiar singles stars, including Frances Tiafoe, Alex Michelsen, and Learner Tien, are also competing in doubles, pulling double duty at River Oaks this week.
Tiafoe and good friend Michael Mmoh, “Team Mo-Fo,” enter as a wildcard duo and will face top seeds Robert Galloway and Jackson Withrow in a popcorn all-American first-round clash. Michelsen is teaming up with Mackie McDonald, while Tien and Jenson Brooksby form another All-American wildcard pairing.
Olympic silver medalists, Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram, are the most accomplished doubles duo in the U.S. Clay field. Both Americans are grand slam champions and have previously held the No. 1 ATP doubles ranking. Seeded third, they kick off their 2025 U.S. Clay campaign against the Ecuadorian pair of Gonzalo Escobar and Diego Hidalgo.
Second-seeded Christian Harrison and Evan King enter Houston as one of the hottest teams on tour. The Americans have won 75 percent of their matches (15-5) in 2025, capturing their first two ATP 500 titles in Dallas and Acapulco. Their breakout season also includes a runner-up finish in Delray Beach, a semifinal run in Indian Wells, and a quarterfinal showing in Miami. They open against fellow Americans Ryan Seggerman and Patrick Trhac.
Rounding out the top four seeds are defending US Clay doubles champion Jordan Thompson and Australian countryman Rinky Hijikata, a former University of North Carolina standout. Thompson, a two-time US Clay doubles champion, holds an 8-1 lifetime record in Houston. Both players own Grand Slam doubles titles—Thompson won the 2024 US Open, while Hijikata claimed the 2023 Australian Open.
The Aussies face a tricky first-round test against Robert Cash and JJ Tracy, former Ohio State Buckeyes and reigning 2024 NCAA doubles champions. Cash and Tracy have quickly made a splash in their first few months on tour, breaking into the Top 100 earlier this season with back-to-back semifinal finishes in Dallas and Delray Beach.
Doubles play will begin Monday, March 31, and the final will be contested on Saturday, April 5.
