Updated August 26, 2026
Serena Williams returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium for the first time since 2022 and won alongside Carlos Alcaraz before their 2026 US Open mixed doubles run ended later Tuesday in the quarterfinals.
Williams and Alcaraz opened their partnership by defeating former doubles world No. 1s Erin Routliffe and Lloyd Glasspool 5-3, 4-1. A few hours later, Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli stopped them 5-4(4), 4-1 to advance to the semifinals.
The quarterfinal defeat shortened what had threatened to become one of the tournament’s biggest stories, but it did not erase what happened earlier. Williams, 44, returned to the stadium where many believed her US Open career had ended four years ago and immediately showed that her comeback could still produce competitive tennis.
Alcaraz was returning for a different reason. The defending US Open men’s singles champion had not played competitively since April 14 because of a wrist injury. His two mixed doubles matches therefore gave him something practice could not provide before his singles title defense: live points, pressure and an opponent trying to beat him.
Story at a glance
Bencic and Cobolli end Serena-Alcaraz run in the quarterfinals
The second match proved considerably more difficult.
Serena Williams had already made her point in the opening match
The quarterfinal loss should not obscure what happened when Williams first walked back onto Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Routliffe and Glasspool made the first victory meaningful
Williams and Alcaraz did not receive an easy opening assignment.
Why the unusual US Open format made every game matter
The 2026 mixed doubles championship operates differently from conventional Grand Slam doubles.
Carlos Alcaraz got two competitive matches before his US Open title defense
The mixed doubles title disappeared, but the day still served an important purpose for Alcaraz.
Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz: US Open Mixed Doubles Results
- First round: Williams/Alcaraz def. Erin Routliffe/Lloyd Glasspool 5-3, 4-1
- Quarterfinal: Belinda Bencic/Flavio Cobolli def. Williams/Alcaraz 5-4(4), 4-1
- Competition: 2026 US Open Mixed Doubles Championship
- Venue: Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York
- Williams’ significance: First US Open appearance since 2022
- Alcaraz’s significance: First competitive appearance since April 14 after a wrist injury
- Williams’ previous US Open mixed doubles title: 1998 with Max Mirnyi
Bencic and Cobolli end Serena-Alcaraz run in the quarterfinals
The second match proved considerably more difficult.
Bencic and Cobolli handled the occasion without allowing the names across the net to dictate the contest. The opening set went to a tiebreak before the Swiss-Italian partnership took it 5-4(4). They then gained control of the second set and closed the match 4-1.
The result ended Williams and Alcaraz’s title challenge on the same day it began.
That rapid turnaround was built into the redesigned US Open mixed doubles championship. The opening round and quarterfinals were both scheduled for Tuesday, leaving successful teams with little time to recover, reset or make significant tactical adjustments.
For Williams and Alcaraz, it meant going from the excitement of a successful debut to elimination within hours.
Bencic and Cobolli advanced to face husband-and-wife pairing Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils in the semifinals.
Serena Williams had already made her point in the opening match
The quarterfinal loss should not obscure what happened when Williams first walked back onto Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Williams and Alcaraz lost the opening two games against Routliffe and Glasspool, with Alcaraz showing understandable signs of rust after four months without competitive tennis. His first point ended with a double fault, and his timing initially lacked the certainty associated with one of the world’s leading singles players.
Williams settled much faster.
She struck a backhand winner on the first ball she touched, began finding clean returns and helped drag the partnership back into the opening set. According to the Associated Press, Williams won 15 points during that set compared with nine for Alcaraz.
She also produced one of the day’s most memorable shots with a 120 mph ace.
Alcaraz gradually found his timing and eventually struck the forehand winner that closed the opening set. From there, Williams and Alcaraz controlled the second and completed a 5-3, 4-1 victory in 58 minutes.
The Sports Encounter had already followed the uncertainty surrounding Alcaraz’s preparation after his withdrawal from the Cincinnati Open because of the wrist injury. His early struggles in New York were therefore hardly surprising.
Practice can restore movement patterns and confidence. Competitive tennis introduces decisions, nerves and consequences that cannot be completely recreated on a training court.
Routliffe and Glasspool made the first victory meaningful
Williams and Alcaraz did not receive an easy opening assignment.
Routliffe and Glasspool are both former doubles world No. 1s. Routliffe is also a two-time US Open women’s doubles champion, winning the title in 2023 and 2025.
They had earned their place in the mixed doubles main draw through qualifying one day earlier.
According to the official US Open tournament report, Routliffe and Glasspool defeated Luisa Stefani and Neal Skupski 4-1, 3-5, 10-7 before surviving Kristina Mladenovic and Marcelo Arevalo 5-4(4), 2-4, 11-9.
That doubles pedigree matters when assessing Williams and Alcaraz’s opening victory.
The shortened format offers very little margin for a slow start, yet Williams and Alcaraz recovered from 0-2 down against opponents far more accustomed to playing doubles together.
Why the unusual US Open format made every game matter
The 2026 mixed doubles championship operates differently from conventional Grand Slam doubles.
From qualifying through the semifinals, sets are played to four games with no-ad scoring and a tiebreak at 4-4. If the teams split the first two sets, a 10-point match tiebreak decides the winner.
The final uses conventional six-game sets while retaining no-ad scoring and a 10-point deciding tiebreak if required.
The shortened sets magnify early mistakes.
Falling 0-2 behind in a conventional six-game set leaves considerable recovery time. The same deficit in a four-game set can put a team within two games of losing it.
Williams and Alcaraz solved that problem against Routliffe and Glasspool. Against Bencic and Cobolli, they could not find the same route back after losing the opening-set tiebreak.
Carlos Alcaraz got two competitive matches before his US Open title defense
The mixed doubles title disappeared, but the day still served an important purpose for Alcaraz.
The Sports Encounter’s complete US Open 2026 preview identified his wrist and lack of recent competition among the central questions surrounding the men’s tournament.
Two abbreviated mixed doubles matches cannot establish whether his wrist is ready for the physical demands of best-of-five-set singles tennis.
They did provide useful evidence.
Alcaraz served under pressure, returned live pace, changed direction repeatedly and completed both matches without an obvious physical interruption. He also experienced competitive nerves again after spending four months away from tournament tennis.
His early rust against Routliffe and Glasspool showed why that mattered.
By the end of the day, Alcaraz had played two competitive matches at Arthur Ashe Stadium. That is considerably different preparation from entering his singles title defense directly from the practice court.
Serena Williams’ return became more than a ceremonial appearance
Williams came back to New York under circumstances few could have imagined when she left Arthur Ashe Stadium in 2022.
Her third-round singles defeat to Ajla Tomljanovic that year appeared to close one of tennis’ defining careers. The ovation that followed felt like a farewell.
Four years later, Williams returned as an active competitor.
Her comeback had already taken her back onto the Grand Slam stage at Wimbledon before she reunited with Venus Williams in Cincinnati. The Sports Encounter followed that progression through the Williams sisters’ Cincinnati doubles return.
New York added something Cincinnati could not: a victory at the tournament most closely associated with the final stage of Serena’s original career.
The run lasted only two matches, but her contribution against Routliffe and Glasspool made it difficult to dismiss the appearance as nostalgia.
Williams was instrumental when the partnership was in trouble. She served at 120 mph. She handled returns from accomplished doubles players. She competed twice in one day at 44.
The quarterfinal result set the competitive limit of this particular run. The opening match showed why her return continues to command sporting attention.
Twenty-eight years separated Serena’s US Open mixed doubles title and this return
There was also an extraordinary historical connection running through Tuesday.
Williams won the US Open mixed doubles championship alongside Max Mirnyi in 1998.
Twenty-eight years later, she returned to the competition with a partner who was not born until 2003.
Alcaraz grew up in a tennis world Williams had already helped reshape. By the time he emerged as a Grand Slam champion, Serena had spent decades influencing expectations around power, athleticism and longevity in the sport.
On Tuesday, those generations shared the same side of the court.
The partnership could easily have become little more than a celebrity attraction. Their opening victory ensured it became a competitive story as well.
The revamped mixed doubles event produced exactly the spectacle organizers wanted
The US Open redesigned its mixed doubles championship to attract leading singles players and give the event a prominent standalone position during Fan Week.
The approach has also generated criticism from doubles specialists concerned that established teams could lose opportunities as organizers prioritize star combinations.
Tuesday provided evidence for both sides of that debate.
Williams and Alcaraz brought enormous attention to mixed doubles at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Elsewhere, doubles specialists demonstrated the value of their expertise. Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten eliminated top seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic before later losing to Svitolina and Monfils in the quarterfinals.
The Sports Encounter examined that result in why the US Open mixed doubles format rewarded the specialists.
The championship carries a $1 million prize for the winning team, adding substantial competitive stakes to an event that has rapidly become one of the most visible parts of US Open Fan Week.
For continuing coverage of the tournament, including singles contenders, injuries and results, visit The Sports Encounter’s Tennis Hub.
What happens next for Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz?
For Alcaraz, attention now turns completely toward the men’s singles championship.
His mixed doubles run provided two competitive matches after a four-month injury absence, but the larger physical examination still lies ahead. Best-of-five-set singles tennis will place far greater demands on his wrist, movement and endurance.
Williams’ next step is less certain.
Her New York return has already accomplished something that seemed highly unlikely when she walked away from Arthur Ashe Stadium in 2022. She returned four years later, won a match alongside the defending men’s singles champion and competed deep enough into the day to reach a US Open quarterfinal.
Bencic and Cobolli ended the title pursuit.
They did not make Serena Williams’ return any less significant.
Continue the US Open 2026 Story
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz win at the 2026 US Open?
Yes. Williams and Alcaraz defeated Erin Routliffe and Lloyd Glasspool 5-3, 4-1 in the first round before losing to Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli in the quarterfinals.
Who beat Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz?
Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli defeated Williams and Alcaraz 5-4(4), 4-1 in the 2026 US Open mixed doubles quarterfinals.
How far did Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz go in mixed doubles?
They reached the quarterfinals, winning their opening match before being eliminated by Bencic and Cobolli.
When did Serena Williams last play at the US Open before 2026?
Williams’ previous US Open appearance came in 2022. Her 2026 mixed doubles campaign marked her first competitive return to Flushing Meadows in four years.
Why had Carlos Alcaraz been out of tennis?
Alcaraz had not competed since April 14 because of a wrist injury. The US Open mixed doubles championship marked his return to competitive tennis after approximately four months away.
Has Serena Williams won the US Open mixed doubles title?
Yes. Williams won the US Open mixed doubles championship with Max Mirnyi in 1998.
Who do Bencic and Cobolli play next?
Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli advance to face husband-and-wife team Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils in the semifinals.
Sources: Results and tournament information were verified through the official US Open, Reuters and The Associated Press.
US Open
- China Open: Sabalenka Follows Rybakina Out as Top Two Seeds Fall Within 24 Hours
- Why Carlos Alcaraz Wants Grand Slams Finished by 11 PM?
- From Melbourne to New York: Rybakina Wins US Open and Completes Her Rise to World No. 1
- Grand Slam Player Council Opens New Phase in Tennis Pay and Power Battle
- Zverev Stops Shelton Comeback to Win US Open as American Drought Lives On
