Carlos Alcaraz and Serena Williams were the main attraction at the US Open on Tuesday as the Spaniard returned to competitive tennis alongside the American great, although their partnership ended in the quarter-finals.
About 15,000 spectators filled Arthur Ashe Stadium to watch the headline team in the tournament’s revamped mixed doubles competition, which has been criticised for prioritising the appeal of leading singles players over established doubles specialists.
Alcaraz and Williams began with a 5-3 4-1 victory against Great Britain’s Lloyd Glasspool and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe before losing to Italy’s world number six Flavio Cobolli and Swiss player Belinda Bencic.
The defeat came in a tight contest, with Cobolli and Bencic winning 5-4 (7-4) 4-1 to reach Wednesday’s semi-finals.
The match was Alcaraz’s first competitive appearance since April, when he suffered a wrist injury. Williams, meanwhile, was playing in New York for the first time since she “evolved away” from tennis in 2022.
The 44-year-old won the US Open mixed doubles title in its original format with Max Mirnyi in 1998, five years before Alcaraz was born. Her return to the Arthur Ashe Stadium prompted a huge reception, while the crowd repeatedly roared the pair on during their opening victory.
Despite the occasion, Williams showed that her competitive instincts remain intact. She and Alcaraz smiled throughout the match and celebrated each successful point with enthusiasm.
Asked about playing alongside the six-time US Open women’s singles champion during a change of ends, Alcaraz said: “I’m playing next to the one and only Serena Williams, so what else can I do? Just enjoy and try to do the things she told me to do.”
Their understanding developed quickly. After a closely fought start, they won eight of the final nine games to complete their first victory together.
Alcaraz said he had felt nervous before returning to the court, partly because of the stature of his partner.
“I think everyone could see I was really nervous; I double-faulted on the first point,” Alcaraz said after their opening win.
“I was out for almost five months, and I almost forgot how it feels stepping out on the court once again.
“It [took] just a couple of games [to settle] and she made it very easy for me to enjoy it and try to go for it.”
Williams said she had not expected to play again at the venue where she won six of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles.
“It’s always amazing to be here. I never expected to be back on this court,” Williams said.
“It was just a really cool moment. I never thought this would happen.”
The mixed doubles event was introduced in its new format last year and is being staged during the week before the US Open singles draw begins. Top-ranked singles players and wildcards receive direct entry into the main draw, while established doubles players such as Glasspool and fellow Briton Henry Patten had to negotiate two qualifying rounds on Monday.
All four specialist doubles pairings competing on Tuesday were beaten by teams featuring singles players. Patten and top-ranked Czech doubles player Katerina Siniakova reached the quarter-finals before losing to Frenchman Gael Monfils and Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, a husband-and-wife partnership.
Monfils and Svitolina face Cobolli and Bencic in one semi-final. Speaking about their partnership, Monfils said: “I’m a big fan of her game and mentality. Sometimes I think she’s ice and I’m the fire.
“We needed to the find the balance. We did today.”
The other last-four match will be between Russian pair Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev and Czech duo Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik.
The competition has also produced notable early surprises. Novak Djokovic, a 24-time major winner, and women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka were eliminated by Patten and Siniakova. While Williams is not playing in the US Open singles event, having not competed in that format since injuring her knee at Wimbledon, the mixed doubles matches gave Alcaraz important court time ahead of his singles return.
