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Jessica Pegula playfully checked US Open mixed doubles partner Jack Draper at the press conference after he referred to the tournament as “a bit of an exhibition format.”
“He shouldn’t be saying that, but that’s O.K.” Pegula said, chuckling, at the press conference after the two tennis stars advanced to the event’s semifinals.
Draper’s answer came in response to a question on whether he was taking the competition more seriously than other pairs in the tournament, to which he said he likes “to win.”
“It’s not an exhibition, [but] I know what you’re saying,” Pegula said.
The interaction between the two top-five players—who will play in the event’s semifinals Wednesday night—is a showcase of the controversy surrounding the revamped event.
The format brought in 16 teams, eight of which were based on combined singles ranks, while the others received wild-card entries. The tournament upped its grand prize from $200,000 to $1 million for the winning duo as a way to entice some of the world’s most famous tennis players—who happen to be singles players.
It worked, as 9 of the top 10 singles players on both the men’s and women’s side were brought into the fold (until Jannik Sinner had to withdraw Tuesday morning). Even popular players outside the top 10, like Emma Raducanu and Venus Williams, were part of the tournament.
However, there’s been significant pushback from doubles players, who value the US Open—especially because the mixed doubles tournament is still categorized as an official Grand Slam.
Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, the 2024 US Open mixed doubles champions, are the lone true doubles team in the tournament this year, having received a wild-card entry to defend their title. The two, who also advanced to the semifinals Wednesday, expressed their displeasure with the revamped tournament style in a February Instagram post.
“We see it as a profound injustice, that disrespect an entire category of players. Put money above tennis is never a good idea,” the pair wrote.
Following Tuesday’s first day, Vavassori said he’s received support from the rest of the doubles community to win it for the group’s sake.
“All the doubles guys were saying to me: ‘You are the only one playing for now, so play also for us a little bit,’” Vavassori said.
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