American tennis star Jessica Pegula has openly questioned the US Open’s decision-making after a surprise change to the mixed doubles format for 2025, claiming players were not consulted in advance.
Format Altered Without Player Input
This year’s event will feature 16 mixed doubles teams — eight selected from singles players and eight given wild card entries — with matches condensed into Fan Week over just two days. Pegula, who serves on the WTA Player Council, expressed frustration that the changes were announced without prior communication.
“We were like, okay, you guys just went rogue and changed the format without telling anybody,” Pegula said via Tennis.com. “Did you even ask the players? Was there any feedback? The process needs to be much smoother.”
Strong 2025 Season So Far
Pegula’s criticism comes during a solid year on court. She has captured titles at the ATX Open and Charleston Open — her first clay-court crown — reached the Miami Open final, and claimed the Bad Homburg Open on grass by defeating Iga Swiatek in the final. Following her Cincinnati campaign, she will turn her focus to the US Open, where she was a finalist in 2024.
Tour Schedule Also Under Fire
The world No. 5 also pointed to the congested North American swing, with the Canadian Open finishing on a Thursday and the Cincinnati tournament starting the same day. Several top players withdrew from the Canadian event due to the tight turnaround. Pegula will partner with Tommy Paul in the mixed doubles, though under the new rules, doubles specialists such as Katerina Siniakova and Marcelo Arevalo will only be eligible for wild card entry
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