Serena, Carlos Alcaraz start US Open mixed doubles vs qualifiers

Serena Williams, of the United States, reacts to a winning point during a women’s doubles match against Marta Kostyuk, of Ukraine, and Peyton Stearns, of the United States, at the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, in Mason, Ohio. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)

NEW YORK — Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz will have to wait a little longer to learn their first opponent in the US Open mixed doubles championship.

Williams and Alcaraz were drawn Sunday to face one of the teams that advances from the eight-team qualifying tournament that will be played Monday.

Williams will be returning to the US Open for the first time since 2022. The six-time singles champion and Alcaraz, who has won the men’s title twice, were awarded a wild card into the 16-team tournament Saturday.

READ: Serena Williams joins Carlos Alcaraz for US Open mixed doubles

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz gestures after the Monte Carlo ATP Masters Series Tournament final tennis match against Italy’s Jannik Sinner on Court Rainier III at the Monte-Carlo Country Club in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, south-eastern France on April 12, 2026. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP)

The first round and quarterfinals of the mixed doubles are Tuesday, with the semifinals and final on Wednesday. The winning team shares $1 million.

Facing one of the qualifiers will be a tough assignment, because most of the players in the qualifying tournament are doubles specialists. The qualifying tournament was added this year to give those types of players a chance to compete after they were almost entirely shut out last year when the U.S. Tennis Association, seeking more star power, revamped the mixed doubles and based direct entry on the players’ rankings in singles.

Two-time defending women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka and 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Novak Djokovic earned the No. 1 seed after having the lowest combined singles ranking among the teams. They will face the pair of Leylah Fernandez and Frances Tiafoe in their first match.

READ: Alex Eala, Auger-Aliassime get US Open mixed doubles wild card

Americans Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz are seeded No. 2 and will open against Diana Shnaider and Casper Ruud. Ruud was scheduled to play again with Iga Swiatek, after they reached the final in 2025. But Swiatek withdrew and Schnaider needed a partner after Daniil Medvedev pulled out.

The other first-round matches: Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils, who are married, vs. Alex Eala and Felix Auger-Aliassime; Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli vs. Taylor Townsend and Alexander Zverev; Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik vs. the other team from the qualifying tournament; Emma Navarro and Tommy Paul vs. Amanda Anisimova and Learner Tien; Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev vs. two-time defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori; and Shnaider and Ruud vs. Pegula and Fritz.