Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori slammed the US Open’s new mixed doubles event (Image: Getty)
The has been accused of “disrespecting players” after .
Reigning champions Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani have released a furious statement, slamming the changes and claiming players weren’t consulted.
The 2024 mixed doubles winners branded it a “profound injustice” and accused organisers of prioritising money over competition.
On Tuesday, the US Open confirmed the mixed doubles event would be revamped entirely in 2025. The tournament will now be staged over two days during qualifying week – the week before the singles main draw gets underway.
The draw size has been cut from 32 to 16 with entries coming through singles rankings and wildcards, effectively making doubles rankings irrelevant. The fast-four scoring format will also be used until the final.
Instead of a decisive third set, a first-to-10-point tiebreak will be played. And the prize money has also been boosted from £161k ($200k) to £804k ($1m). But doubles players, including 2024 champions Vavassori and Errani, aren’t happy.
The Italian duo, ranked No. 7 and No. 10 in doubles, respectively, wouldn’t be able to enter the new mixed doubles event with their singles rankings, as both are outside the world’s top 100.
Hours after the US Open announced their altered competition, Vavassori and Errani released a furious statement, branding the tournament a “pseudo-exhibition”.
Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori accused organisers of prioritising money (Image: Getty)
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“Values very much underestimated in our times. In our opinion making decisions just following the logic of profit is profoundly wrong in some situations,” it read.
“Last year, to win the US Open together was one of the greatest moments in our careers. We felt unbelievable warmth and support from the Italian fans and that made us really happy.
“Mixed doubles is not very well known, that’s true, but everything that’s part of a Slam competition – the history behind every single result – is unique and it’s a great honour to become part of it.
“Coming back the following year and seeing your names engraved in the trophy board is one of the most special feelings in our sport. You realise that you will forever be remembered as a small part of this important tournament.”
Turning their attention to the new format, the Italians wrote: “In the last few weeks we received the news that the US Open mixed doubles tournament will be completely turned upside down, cancelled and replaced with a pseudo-exhibition focused only on entertainment and show.
“It will be played during the qualification tournament, with 8 pairs of players determined by the highest single ranking and 8 pairs of players invited by the tournament with a wild card.
“A decision made without consulting anyone, which we can do nothing but accept it. We see it as a profound injustice, that disrespects an entire category of players. [Putting] money above tennis is never a good idea
“We don’t know at the moment if we’ll have the chance to defend our title, but we hope this remains an isolated case and this type of policy will not be considered again in the future. We strongly felt the need to share our thoughts.”
The US Open has yet to respond to the defending champion’s comments but more doubles players have piled on the criticism. “No communication with the players, no thought behind what it means to some people’s careers, no respect to the history and traditions. Sad to see,” Jan Zielinski tweeted.
Kristina Mladenovic also if they wanted to enter mixed but had to compete in singles qualifying.