"Okay, you guys went rogue" - Mixed emotions for Jessica Pegula prior to mixed doubles, slams organisers for lack of communication

Along with many of the top players in the world, Jessica Pegula will play in the newly styled US Open mixed doubles event, being played between the 19th and 20th of August. The American has labelled the changes as 'rogue' whilst also demanding more communication about the format.

The mixed doubles will now be hosted in fans' week, and is expected to rack in a lot of spectators ahead of the start of the US Open singles event. Many of the favourites for that will be playing, with the likes of Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Jack Draper, Emma Raducanu, and more teaming up to put on a show for the intrigued viewers.

The scoring will alter from its usual format, with sets going up to four games instead of the standard six. There will be no advantage, and the deciding set will be a first-to-10 tiebreak. The only change in the final is that a set goes back up to six games. A big prize pot has also been enlisted to motivate the players participating, with $1 million going to the winners.

It is set up to be a fascinating couple of days at Flushing Meadows, as mixed doubles is put on centre stage for the world to enjoy.

The American number two has described it as an 'honour' that she will be playing in the mixed doubles. She will partner with fellow American Tommy Paul, who expects to have a lot of support at Flushing Meadows.

Speaking to reporters in Cincinnati, Pegula said: "I'm honoured that they asked me to play. It's going to be great, it's going to be fun, and the fans will really enjoy it,"

The format has gotten a lot of stick and criticism from fans and players alike. One of the loudest has come from last year's champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, who slammed the event, standing up to doubles players who have been seemingly overlooked in favour of the best singles players.

Pegula also shared her frustrations with the organisers for a lack of communication between them and the players. She has a leading voice in tennis, being a member of the WTA Player Council, and was quick to voice her feelings on the situation.

"At the same time, how they went about it, I didn't think was really great," Pegula said. "We were like, Okay, you guys went rogue and changed the format and didn't tell anybody. You just did it. Did you talk to the players? Did you get their input about how it could be better? That's 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."

Despite this, the world number four did go on to state that the inflated prize pool will lead to doubles players earning more money in the future. The mixed doubles event is poised to reign in millions of viewers around the world, who would get gripped by the world-class tennis being played. This would lead to them wanting to watch more doubles, and thus shifting more attention over.

"It's not good when you have players saying 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. "It's going to be a really fun event, but at the same time, I wish that they would have been communicating with us a little bit better."