Williams and Alcaraz eliminated in US Open mixed doubles quarter-finals
Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the quarter-finals of the revamped 2026 US Open mixed doubles event before falling to fourth seeds Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli.
Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz exited the 2026 US Open mixed doubles competition in the quarter-finals, losing to fourth seeds Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli. The pairing, which featured the 44-year-old Williams and the reigning men’s singles champion Alcaraz, reached the last eight after securing an opening round victory over Lloyd Glasspool and Erin Routliffe.
Williams, who returned to professional tennis in June, recorded her first win since 2022 in that initial match. Alcaraz, 22, made his first appearance on tour since April after a wrist injury sidelined him for several months. The pair bounced back from a slow start to defeat Glasspool and Routliffe 5-3, 4-1 in the opening round.
In the quarter-finals, Bencic and Cobolli defeated Williams and Alcaraz 5-4, 4-1. Cobolli had previously described his opponents as “the queen of tennis and the king of now” before the match. The result ends the run for the star-studded pairing, leaving questions regarding Williams’ potential participation in women’s doubles alongside her sister Venus.
The tournament saw significant upsets in the opening round, with top seeds Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka eliminated by Henry Patten and Katerina Siniakova. The British-Czech pair defeated the 24-time Grand Slam singles champion and four-time major winner 1-4, 4-2, 10-2. Siniakova sealed the upset with an ace on match point.
Defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori also exited in the first round, falling to Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev. The Russian pair advanced to the semi-finals after defeating Diana Shnaider and Casper Ruud 4-1, 4-5, 10-5.
The semi-final draw features Andreeva and Rublev against Karolína Muchova and Jakub Mensik, while Bencic and Cobolli face Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina. The mixed doubles event was revamped last year to be held in the week before the singles main draw, a format change designed to attract leading singles players through a reduced field and standalone calendar slot.
