"He shouldn't be saying that": Jessica Pegula playfully rebukes partner Jack Draper for his erroneous comment on US Open mixed doubles

Jessica Pegula recently corrected Jack Draper for making an erroneous comment about the US Open's mixed doubles event. The duo has reached the semifinals of the tournament.

Pegula and Draper have produced dominant skills in the US Open mixed doubles tournament, as they got the better of prominent pairs and progressed to the semifinals. In the first round, they locked horns with Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu and went on to dominate the round, claiming a 4-2, 4-2 win over their opponents.

Following this, they squared off against Daniil Medvedev and Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals, where the former again earned a smooth 4-1, 4-1 win. Amid these ongoing showdowns, Pegula and Draper sat for a press conference, where Draper was asked about his seriousness on the court. In reply, he erroneously commented on the US Open mixed doubles by calling it an 'exhibition.' He said:

"Obviously it is like a bit of an exhibition format. It’s nice to play with someone.”

Quickly correcting his partner in a playful tone for his statement, Pegula replied:

"You shouldn't be saying that, but that's OK."

One of the users shared their playful exchange on X, writing:

talkingtennis

@talkingtennis22

Ouch.​Jessica Pegula had to scold partner Jack Draper when he called the US Open Mixed Doubles an "exhibition" in their press conference.​"He shouldn't be saying that, but that's OK," Pegula said, later adding that "it's not an exhibition."

Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper will next be seen competing against Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud in the semi-final round of the US Open mixed doubles tournament at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Jessica Pegula made her feelings known about the US Open not informing players about the new mixed doubles format

Jessica Pegula recently sat for a media conversation, where she opened up about the US Open executing a new format before informing the mixed doubles players. Expressing her frustration about the matter, she said that the officials should have taken input from the competitors.

Criticizing the lack of communication, she said the US Open should have received feedback about the new format they launched.

"We were like, Okay, you guys (US Open) just went rogue and changed the format and didn’t tell anybody. You just kind of did it. What do you even know? Did you talk to the players? Did you get their input about how it could be better?" said Jessica Pegula.

"I think that’s just something that we as players are trying to work with them on, having that line of communication be a lot smoother. I feel like maybe if there was feedback about the format, then the (reaction) would be a little different, not so all over the place," she added.

Ahead of the US Open, Jessica Pegula competed in the Cincinnati Open. She couldn't advance further than the second round, where she was bested by Magda Linette.