'Just a strategy to make money': Ex-player calls out US Open mixed doubles format as 'unfair'

(Getty/Sarah Stier, Felipe Amorim)

Frenchwoman Alizé Cornet has called out the US Open's attempt to "make money" from mixed doubles, as she feels for the doubles specialists forced to watch on the sidelines.

This year marks the second edition of the mixed doubles concept, with top-ranked singles players participating in the main draw spread across two days during Fan Week. 

Experienced doubles pair Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori were crowned mixed doubles champions in New York last year, where they proved a point amid the uproar and controversy around the changes. 

"I think this one is for all the doubles players that couldn't play this tournament. I think this one is also for them," Errani said during her trophy speech.

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Cornet, a former world No.11 on the WTA Tour, didn't hold back on her views.

"Why not organise an exhibition?" she told RMC's Les Grandes Gueules du Sport.

"This is their livelihood throughout the year, and they work very hard for it. This is unfair," Cornet continued as she argued in defence of mixed doubles specialists. "The problem is not new. Laura Siegemund, the tournament champion in 2016, had already denounced last year that the tournament was turning a serious competition into a 'show event'."

The winner of the event pockets USD$1 million, and the purpose of the revamped format is to attract star players, boost interest amongst fans and sell out stadiums.

Despite those reasons, it doesn't sit well with Cornet.

"We mustn't mix everything together," she said. "It is really just a strategy to make money. It is no longer the US Open mixed doubles. It doesn't look anything like what it used to be."

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The semi-final lineups for Day 2 are set, with power couple Elina Svitolina and Gaël Monfils to face fourth seeds Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli, while Karolína Muchová and Jubuk Menšík come up against Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev.

Star partnerships included Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz as well as Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic, with the latter pairing losing in the first round.

The matches were played on the two biggest stadiums (Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium), as both semis plus the final are scheduled on Centre Court.

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