"It's excluding them from their sport" - Sara Errani contrasts the revamped US Open mixed doubles event to 'basketballers competing in high jump'

Last year's US Open mixed doubles champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori have been very vocal about their distaste on the changes made to the event, with Errani slamming the organisers for looking over the regular doubles players for highly touted singles stars.

The Italian pair were given a wildcard for the event after they succeeded in Flushing Meadows last year, and look on-track to defend their title despite what they say about it. Their first match was against the number two seeds, Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina. Despite the high ranking, the doubles pair schooled them on the court, coming out as comfortable winners in a statement to the rest of the field.

They followed that victory with another solid showing against Andrey Rublev and Karolina Muchova. They stormed into a one-leg lead, winning the last four games before being entangled in a tight second set, which they clinched in a tiebreaker. They move into the semi-finals, with a different challenge in the form of two American favourites, Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison. The winner of that will face either Jack Draper and Jessica Pegula or Casper Ruud and Iga Swiatek in the final.

This new mixed doubles event has been put in place to attract some of the top singles players in the world to compete. It has got the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, Mirra Andreeva, among many other top players who are challenging for a big prize pot, and this rare opportunity to be crowned as mixed doubles champions. High-caliber players also miss out, including world number ones Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka.

The event has divided opinion across the whole tennis community. Some are arguing in favour of the revamped tournament, looking forward to and enjoying the prospect of the best singles players in the world teaming up to battle in unfamiliar surroundings. For others, it is a chance taken away from the usual suspects who had hoped to battle for the title. Errani and Vavassori are lucky to have been entered, but many other highly-ranked doubles players were not as fortunate.

Katerina Siniakova is the world number one in doubles and was in line to play with Sinner at Flushing Meadows. This was before the four-time Grand Slam champion pulled out of the event after a disastrous Cincinnati Open final where he retired 5-0 down to Alcaraz. This left the best doubles player in the world without a partner for the 'doubles' competition. Errani has doubled down on her criticism of the event, comparing it to basketball players replacing high jumpers to force interest.

"It's as if the Olympics banned real high jumpers from competing and forced basketball players to jump instead, because it's more interesting," Errani said. "If you want to do that, go ahead, but don't give them medals. You can't organise a Grand Slam doubles tournament without allowing doubles players to compete. It's excluding them from their sport. It's not fair."

The pair of Italians has had a solid amount of success in their relatively short time together. They won the US Open in their third competition together and went on to win the French Open earlier this year. Errani has had previous success in double, having won five Grand Slams between 2012 and 2014, along with three runner-ups in that time period. Her eighth Grand Slam title will be filled with the controversy of the event, but will also be a massive statement towards the top singles players, showing that they can't just come into their event and step all over them.