Alcaraz and Williams exit US Open mixed doubles as singles stars dominate revamped format

Carlos Alcaraz and Serena Williams have exited the US Open mixed doubles competition in the quarter-finals, ending their brief return to the sport. The pair, who had secured a victory in their opening match, were defeated by Flavio Cobolli and Belinda Bencic at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday.

The result underscores the impact of the tournament’s revamped format, introduced last year to pit established doubles specialists against top singles stars. On Tuesday, all four doubles specialist pairings were eliminated by teams of singles players, a trend that has attracted criticism for favouring the allure of the sport’s biggest names over traditional doubles expertise.

Williams, 44, made her first appearance in New York since 2022, while Alcaraz played his first competitive match since April following a wrist injury. The pair won their opening match against Lloyd Glasspool and Erin Routliffe, with the 44-year-old Williams noting that she never expected to return to the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Despite the early success, the pairing fell to Cobolli and Bencic in the quarter-finals. Alcaraz admitted to feeling nervous during the match, double-faulting on the first point of his return to competitive action. He described the experience as valuable court time, noting that it took a couple of games to settle back into the rhythm of play.

The semi-final line-up is now set, with Cobolli and Bencic scheduled to face Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina. In the other semi-final, Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev will contest a match against Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik.

The day also saw Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka suffer an early exit at the hands of Henry Patten and Katerina Siniakova, further illustrating the mixed results for high-profile singles pairings in the competition.