Jessica Pegula on the bigger issue with US Open mixed doubles: "Did you talk to players?"

CINCINNATI, Ohio — As the countdown to the US Open—and its polarizing mixed doubles event—continues, Jessica Pegula says a lack of communication between players and organizers is at the heart of the divide.

The American No. 4 seed spoke after her second-round victory at the Cincinnati Open on Sunday, where she defeated Kimberly Birrell 6-4, 6-3. Pegula, who will team up with Tommy Paul at the revamped two-day tournament, said players weren’t consulted before the major overhaul was announced.

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“I’m honored that they asked me to play. I think it’s going to be great, I think it’s going to be fun and I think the fans will really enjoy it,” Pegula told press in a mixed zone interview. “At the same time, how they went about it, I didn’t think was really great.”

The US Open revealed the new format in February. The event will now take place during Fan Week over two days, with abbreviated “Fast 4” scoring. The most controversial change is the limited field of 16 teams—eight direct entries based on singles rankings, not doubles, and eight wild cards, a mix of fan favorites and doubles champions.

Pegula, a member of the WTA's Player Council who co-signed a letter to the four Grand Slams calling for a greater share of profits for players, welcomed the initiative but said the lack of communication left players blindsided.

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“We were like, Okay, you guys (US Open) just went rogue and changed the format and didn’t tell anybody. You just kind of did it,” Pegula explained.

“What do you even know? Did you talk to the players? Did you get their input about how it could be better? I think that’s just something that we as players are trying to work with them on, having that line of communication be a lot smoother.

“I feel like maybe if there was feedback about the format, then the (reaction) would be a little different, not so all over the place.”

Player feedback has been mixed, with many doubles specialists strongly opposed. Because of the singles ranking requirement, many top doubles players are effectively locked out—for example, doubles world No. 2 Katerina Siniakova, the reigning Wimbledon mixed champion, and ATP No. 1 Marcelo Arevalo would need a wild card to enter.

Six of the eight wild cards have already been awarded, with Carlos Alcaraz-Emma Raducanu, Venus Williams-Reilly Opelka and Novak Djokovic-Olga Danilovic among the pairs confirmed. Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, the Roland Garros mixed doubles champions, are the only team so far made up of dedicated doubles players.

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“I mean, I think fans will still be excited. But it’s not good when you have players saying that they’re upset that now they can’t play, or that it’s a way for them to make money and now they don’t have that,” Pegula said.

“I think it’s going to be a really fun event, but at the same time, yeah, I wish that they would have been communicating with us a little bit better.”

Adding to the strain is the schedule, which sees the mixed doubles event start on Tuesday—just one day after the Cincinnati Open’s Monday final. It’s a tight turnaround in a packed summer calendar that already featured the Canadian Open concluding on Thursday and Cincinnati’s main draw starting the same day.

“The two weeks, I feel like it’s crushing a lot of the players a little bit,” Pegula said. “Obviously, yes, (they can) make more money, and our prize money may be a little bit higher and stuff like that—but it’s kind of, like, at what expense?”

Through to the third round in Cincinnati, No. 4 seed Pegula will face No. 31 seed Magda Linette on Tuesday.