Tennis Icon Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz Form Star-Studded Pair for US Open Mixed Doubles

Serena Williams is set to compete at the US Open for the first time in four years following her return to tennis this summer. She will team up with Carlos Alcaraz to form a powerhouse mixed doubles pair on her comeback to the tournament.

The US Tennis Association announced on Saturday that Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz received a wild card into the event. The mixed doubles main draw kicks off on Tuesday, featuring a $1 million prize for the winning team. This marks Serena Williams's first appearance at the US Open since 2022, following her return to the sport earlier this summer.

"Let’s gooooo!" Carlos Alcaraz posted on X, accompanied by a fire emoji and tagging Serena Williams. While Serena Williams is not planning to play singles in New York, the USTA had previously held a women's wild card, which was ultimately awarded to American Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion.

Serena Williams played singles at Wimbledon but sustained a knee injury during her first-round loss. She also played doubles with her older sister Venus at the Cincinnati Open, leaving open the possibility of them playing together at the US Open. Carlos Alcaraz announced this week that he will return to defend his US Open singles title after being sidelined since April due to a right wrist injury.

Serena Williams previously won a mixed doubles title at the US Open prior to claiming any of her six singles titles there, teaming up for the 1998 championship with Max Mirnyi. The mixed doubles format has since changed significantly after the USTA revamped it last year into a two-day, 16-team event designed to attract top singles players.

Other notable updates to the field include pairings like Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz joining forces after their previous partners, Jack Draper and Elena Rybakina, withdrew due to injuries. Additional wild cards were granted to the teams of Emma Navarro and Tommy Paul, as well as Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik. The full lineup features elite tandems such as Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud, and Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils.