Serena Williams will return to the US Open for the first time since 2022, partnering with world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in mixed doubles. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) confirmed on Saturday that both have been awarded a wildcard into the main draw, which is set to begin on Tuesday, with a $1 million prize for the winning team.
Alcaraz expressed his excitement on social media, posting flame emojis and tagging Williams. The Spaniard recently confirmed he will defend his men's singles title at the US Open after being sidelined since April due to a right wrist injury.
As for Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion has no plans to play singles in New York. The final women's singles wildcard retained by the USTA was awarded to Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion. Williams suffered a knee injury in her first-round loss at Wimbledon, then played doubles with her sister Venus in Cincinnati. The Williams sisters may continue to team up in women's doubles at the US Open.
Notably, Williams won the US Open mixed doubles title just before her first of six singles titles at the event. In 1998, she triumphed with Maxim Mirnyi, who now works with world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
This year's mixed doubles event has been reformatted by the USTA into a 16-team tournament over two days to attract top singles players. In addition to the Williams-Alcaraz pair, the lineup includes notable teams such as Sabalenka-Djokovic, Pegula-Fritz, Swiatek-Ruud, Navarro-Paul, and Muchova-Mensik. The remaining two spots will be determined through an eight-team qualifying round on Monday, featuring pairs like Andreeva-Rublev and Stearns-Harrison.
