Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz Exit US Open Mixed Doubles After Quarterfinal Defeat

The return of Serena Williams to Arthur Ashe Stadium came to an abrupt end as she and Carlos Alcaraz fell 5-4(4), 4-1 to Flavio Cobolli and Belinda Bencic in the US Open mixed doubles quarterfinal, their magic fading after an inspired early performance.

The 23-time major winner had not competed at the crown jewel of US tennis since her tearful farewell from the sport in 2022, and fans erupted in deafening cheers as their queen took the court again on Tuesday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. The 44-year-old Williams had an easy rapport with Alcaraz, who is 21 years her junior, as the partners grinned and giggled their way past Erin Routliffe and Lloyd Glasspool 5-3, 4-1 in the opening round earlier on Tuesday.

However, their firepower was extinguished by the ice-cold Cobolli and Bencic, who advanced to play married partners Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils in a semifinal on Wednesday. "Playing Serena and Carlos on Arthur Ashe is not easy. I was tired before the match, I'm tired now," said the Italian Cobolli.

Williams, who is not competing in the singles, showed glimpses of her old brilliance in their opening match against Routliffe and Glasspool, blasting a 120mph (193.1km/h) ace to audible gasps from the packed house a little more than two months after she announced her stunning comeback. Alcaraz, who has not played since April due to injury, shook off the early rust to close out the set with a forehand winner before they sprinted through the second set, embracing after the win in their matching royal purple outfits.

"It's always such an amazing place to be here," said Williams. "I never expected to be back on this court."

The Roland Garros runner-up Cobolli and Tokyo Olympic champion Bencic proved too tough a task as Williams and Alcaraz made early mistakes and Cobolli sealed the tie-break with an ace. The Swiss-Italian pair only upped their level from there, with no unforced errors in the second set, paying tribute to their opponents after the match.

In other mixed doubles action, top seeds Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka were stunned 1-4, 4-2, 10-2 by experienced doubles players Henry Patten and Katerina Siniakova in round one. Patten and Siniakova subsequently lost to Monfils and Svitolina in the quarterfinals 5-4(6), 4-5(3), 10-8. Meanwhile, Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik advanced to face the Russian pair Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev in the other semifinal on Wednesday.

Additionally, five-time US Open champion Roger Federer returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium to play a final exhibition match against longtime rival and friend Andy Roddick. Federer, who last competed at the US Open in 2019 and retired in 2022, teamed up with John McEnroe to face Roddick and Agassi in a doubles exhibition before thousands of fans wearing the signature "RF" apparel.