"Congratulations on winning this incredible exhibition," Roger-Vasselin sarcastically remarks after Errani and Vavassori's victory at the US Open
From Wednesday night into Thursday, Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori won the new controversial format introduced by the US Open for its 2025 mixed doubles edition.
For the occasion, and during Fan Week, eight pairs competed to win a one-million-dollar check. In the end, it was the Italians—the only "specialists" in the discipline participating in the competition—who triumphed over the unprecedented pair composed of two singles stars, Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud.
Since the US Open announced the launch of this format, opinions have been divided, and the regulars of mixed doubles tournaments, nearly all sidelined by the organization, have obviously been displeased.
Especially since some players involved in the competition, like Jack Draper, have argued in recent days that mixed doubles is an exhibition, particularly due to the format (4 games per set, except for the final) and the prize money (a million dollars shared by the pair).
Winner of Roland-Garros in 2024 alongside Laura Siegemund and an excellent doubles player for many years, Édouard Roger-Vasselin, clearly not a fan of this new format, opted for sarcasm to congratulate Errani and Vavassori in recent hours.
"Congratulations on winning this incredible exhibition, good luck for the real tournament next week," wrote the 41-year-old Frenchman on X (formerly Twitter).
In response to his post, internet users replied, but the former world No. 6 doubles player defended his point of view, this time in French.
"I’m pointing out that it’s really a shame not to have allowed the best doubles players in the world to participate in mixed doubles. In any case, the highest-ranked doubles players couldn’t take part in the mixed, and yet the only team of 'specialists' won the tournament. So I find that regrettable."
But Roger-Vasselin is not the first player accustomed to doubles competition to publicly express his dissatisfaction. The day before, it was Nicole Melichar-Martinez, a 32-year-old American player, who posted a message on the same social network.
The latter, winner of Wimbledon in 2018 in mixed doubles with Alexander Peya, had tweeted hoping to see the Italian pair go all the way after qualifying for the semifinals. Her wish was granted in recent hours.
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