Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz formed a mixed doubles team at the 2026 US Open, marking Williams' return to the tournament after a four-year absence [1, 2, 3, 4]. The 44-year-old Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, partnered with 23-year-old Alcaraz, the reigning US Open men's singles champion ranked No. 3 in the world [4, 5]. They received a wildcard entry into the 16-team mixed doubles draw, which adopted a single-elimination format last year with a $1 million champion prize [1, 2, 3, 6].
The new format features shortened scoring before the final, with sets played to four games and tiebreaks, while the final uses traditional 6-game sets [4]. Matches begin one week before the main singles draw and take place on the two main courts with full broadcast coverage [1, 2, 3, 7].
Williams and Alcaraz won their first-round match against Erin Routliffe of New Zealand and Lloyd Glasspool of the UK on August 25, advancing to the quarterfinals [4, 8, 5]. Alcaraz was playing his first official competitive match since April 14, 2026, returning from a right wrist injury. He said, "Honestly, I was very, very nervous at the start since I had been away from the court for more than four months, but with the experienced Serena leading, the match felt easier" [5].
In the quarterfinals later that day, they lost to the fourth-seeded Swiss-Italian team of Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli by scores of 4-5(4), 1-4 [4, 8, 5]. Bencic said, "It was a great honor to face Serena and Carlos. We could really feel the power they bring" and "I still can’t believe I was standing on this court playing against Carlos and Serena" [4, 8]. Cobolli added, "Facing the queen of tennis and the current king was naturally nerve-wracking" [4]. Williams reflected, "I never thought I would return to this court. I never imagined it would happen" [4].
Top mixed doubles teams like Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka were upset early in the tournament, elevating attention on the Williams-Alcaraz partnership, which many saw as a high-profile, cross-generational 'dream team' [1, 2, 3, 8, 5].
Williams at 44 and Alcaraz at 23 created a rare pairing combining legendary experience with current top-level play, drawing strong media and fan focus [1, 2, 3, 4, 7]. The next US Open matches continue in their standard schedule, with the singles main draw underway following the mixed doubles early rounds.
