Serena Williams is returning to the US Open with one of the sport’s biggest active stars beside her—and an opponent neither she nor Carlos Alcaraz knows yet.
Williams and Alcaraz received a wild card into the 16-team US Open mixed doubles championship and will face one of two teams advancing from Monday’s qualifying tournament. Their first-round opponent will be determined Aug. 24, one day before the main draw begins.
The match will be played Tuesday, Aug. 25, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York. Its exact court assignment and start time had not been announced as of Sunday.
Play begins at 10 a.m. ET in Louis Armstrong Stadium and 11 a.m. inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. ESPN2 and ESPN+ will carry the tournament from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., followed by exclusive coverage on ESPN+ from 3 to 5 p.m.
The winner will return later Tuesday to face either Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli or Taylor Townsend and Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals.
How Williams and Alcaraz Teamed Up for US Open
GettySpain’s Carlos Alcaraz reacts after winning a game against Italy’s Jannik Sinner during the Monte Carlo ATP Masters Series Tournament final tennis match on Court Rainier III at the Monte-Carlo Country Club in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, south-eastern France on April 12, 2026.
The U.S. Tennis Association announced the blockbuster wild-card pairing Saturday, three days before the first round.
Neither player has publicly explained who initiated the partnership. Alcaraz, however, immediately celebrated the announcement on social media.
“Let’s gooooo!” Alcaraz wrote on X, tagging Williams and adding a fire emoji.
Their team unites different generations of US Open history. Williams won six women’s singles championships in New York and captured the 1998 mixed doubles title alongside Max Mirnyi. Alcaraz won the men’s singles crown in 2022 and 2025.
It will be Williams’ first competitive appearance at Flushing Meadows since her emotional farewell at the 2022 US Open. The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion returned to professional tennis in June after nearly four years away, winning a doubles match with Victoria Mboko at Queen’s Club.
Williams subsequently played singles at Wimbledon, where she sustained a knee injury in a first-round loss. She returned in Cincinnati to play women’s doubles with her sister Venus, losing a tight opening-round match to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns.
Alcaraz is making a comeback of his own. The reigning US Open champion has been sidelined since April because of an injury to his right wrist.
Breaking Down the Williams-Alcaraz Partnership
The unknown opponent makes a complete tactical preview impossible, but the wild-card team’s basic formula is clear.
Williams still possesses a powerful serve, aggressive return and strong instincts around the net. Alcaraz provides elite speed, explosive groundstrokes and the creativity to rescue points after the formation breaks down.
The largest questions involve health and preparation. Williams has played only a handful of matches since beginning her comeback, while Alcaraz has not competed in four months. Their star power will be unmatched, but an established qualifying team could arrive with better doubles positioning and sharper communication.
The shortened format also reduces their margin for error. Matches through the semifinals feature sets played to four games, no-ad scoring and a 10-point match tiebreak replacing a third set. The final uses traditional six-game sets.
That structure rewards fast starts and makes one loose service game potentially decisive. Williams and Alcaraz may be the tournament’s most fascinating partnership, but they will have little time to build chemistry before their still-undetermined opponents test it.
Serena Williams, Carlos Alcaraz Await Mystery US Open Mixed Doubles Opponent