08/23/26 04:42:00
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08/23 16:41 CDT Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz will start US Open mixed
doubles against team from qualifying
Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz will start US Open mixed doubles against
team from qualifying
By BRIAN MAHONEY
AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --- Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz will have to wait a little
longer to learn their first opponent in the U.S. Open mixed doubles
championship.
Williams and Alcaraz were drawn Sunday to face one of the teams that advances
from the eight-team qualifying tournament that will be played Monday.
Williams will be returning to the U.S. Open for the first time since 2022. The
six-time singles champion and Alcaraz, who has won the men's title twice, were
awarded a wild card into the 16-team tournament Saturday.
The first round and quarterfinals of the mixed doubles are Tuesday, with the
semifinals and final on Wednesday. The winning team shares $1 million.
Facing one of the qualifiers will be a tough assignment, because most of the
players in the qualifying tournament are doubles specialists. The qualifying
tournament was added this year to give those types of players a chance to
compete after they were almost entirely shut out last year when the U.S. Tennis
Association, seeking more star power, revamped the mixed doubles and based
direct entry on the players' rankings in singles.
Two-time defending women's champion Aryna Sabalenka and 23-time Grand Slam
singles champion Novak Djokovic earned the No. 1 seed after having the lowest
combined singles ranking among the teams. They will face the pair of Leylah
Fernandez and Frances Tiafoe in their first match.
Americans Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz are seeded No. 2 and will open
against Diana Shnaider and Casper Ruud. Ruud was scheduled to play again with
Iga Swiatek, after they reached the final in 2025. But Swiatek withdrew and
Schnaider needed a partner after Daniil Medvedev pulled out.
The other first-round matches: Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils, who are
married, vs. Alex Eala and Felix Auger-Aliassime; Belinda Bencic and Flavio
Cobolli vs. Taylor Townsend and Alexander Zverev; Karolina Muchova and Jakub
Mensik vs. the other team from the qualifying tournament; Emma Navarro and
Tommy Paul vs. Amanda Anisimova and Learner Tien; Mirra Andreeva and Andrey
Rublev vs. two-time defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori; and
Shnaider and Ruud vs. Pegula and Fritz.
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