US Open Mixed Doubles 2026: Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz Given Wildcard Draw
BBC Sport reports that Serena Williams will team up with Carlos Alcaraz for the US Open mixed doubles this year. The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion made her return to tennis in June, four years after stepping away. She has since played three doubles matches and returned to singles at Wimbledon, losing in three sets to Maya Joint.
Williams and her partner were given a wildcard into the main draw of the US Open mixed doubles competition alongside seven other wildcards. The top six pairs with the best combined singles rankings received direct entry. Other notable pairings include world number one Aryna Sabalenka with Novak Djokovic, Elena Rybakina with Taylor Fritz, Iga Swiatek with Casper Ruud, and Elina Svitolina paired with her husband Gael Monfils.
The tournament, which runs from August 24-26, features a shorter scoring system, no ‘advantage’ scoring, and 10-point match tie-breaks. It was revamped last year to include more singles player pairings, though some doubles specialists criticized the change.
