(Reuters) - The U.S. Open's revamped mixed doubles format is a "profound injustice" that disrespects the players, reigning champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori have said.
On Tuesday, the year's last Grand Slam announced that the mixed doubles competition, which will offer a $1 million winners' prize, is scheduled for August 19-20 - the week before the singles main draw.
The competition's format has been overhauled, with 16 teams participating - half the 32 that competed last year.
The qualification process has also been changed, with eight teams earning direct entry via their combined singles ranking - as opposed to their combined doubles ranking. The other eight teams will be wild-card entries.
The U.S. Open said the changes were made following the success of the 'Mixed Madness' exhibition event held ahead of last year's tournament, which paired up a number of high-profile singles players into teams.
"Making decisions just following the logic of profit is profoundly wrong in some situations," Italians Errani and Vavassori, who beat Taylor Townsend and Donald Young to lift last year's mixed doubles title, said in a statement on Tuesday.
"In the last few weeks we received the news that the US Open mixed doubles tournament will be completely turned upside down, cancelled and replaced with a pseudo-exhibition focused only on entertainment and show.
"We see it as a profound injustice that disrespects an entire category of players. We don't know at the moment if we'll have the chance to defend our title but we hope this remains an isolated case."
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) said it understood the feedback from doubles players.
"We acknowledge that change is difficult, however overall we believe this reimagined mixed doubles championship will elevate mixed doubles with a bigger spotlight and provide a greater opportunity to inspire more people to play and grow the sport," it added.
Poland's Jan Zielinski, a mixed doubles winner at last year's Australian Open and Wimbledon, said on Instagram that the decision had been taken without "any consultation with the players and based strictly on profit".
Australian Ellen Perez, a former world number seven in doubles, criticised the format changes in a post on X.
"Tell us that you think doubles players are trash, that tradition is overrated and job opportunity is a thing of the past without actually saying it," she wrote.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Nashik, India; Editing by Ken Ferris and Christian Radnedge)
