US Open 2026: Serena Williams, Carlos Alcaraz Knocked Out Of Mixed Doubles; Djokovic-Sabalenka Also Exit

 

 

Williams’ return to the US Open came to an abrupt end as she and Carlos Alcaraz suffered a defeat against Flavio Cobolli and Belinda Bencic by 5-4(4), 4-1 in the US Open Mixed Doubles quarterfinals. Serena’s comeback to the tennis court was looked upon with enthusiasm by many tennis fans, but the star player failed to reach the last four.

The 23-time major winner hadn’t competed in the US Open after bidding adieu to the sport in 2022. Thus, fans were giving loud cheers for the American athlete.

The duo outplayed the duo of Erin Routliffe and Lloyd Glasspool 5-3, 4-1 in the opening round on Tuesday. The fixture showed that they have been able to form great chemistry on the court and go deep into the tournament with their performance.

 

Williams also showed glimpses of brilliance in the opening match of their campaign, smashing a 120 mph (193.1 kph).

The Roland Garros runner-up Cobolli and Tokyo Olympic champion Bencic turned out to be a tough task for Serena and Alcaraz to beat.

 

Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka crashed out

The top seeds, Djokovic and Sabalenka, were stunned by the pair of Henry Patten and Katerina Siniakova by 1-4, 4-2, 2-10. All the attention was on the pair as they comprised the top players in their respective singles categories.

 

Revamped mixed doubles format

The mixed doubles format in the US Open was changed last year to get more of the top players in singles to compete in the category. It was converted into a two-day event from a multi-day competition, and the scoring system was also modified to shorten the matches.

The matches in the first three rounds include sets of four games each. A tiebreaker will be played on 4-all, and a 10-point tiebreaker will replace the third set. Only the final will be played like a regular match, where each set will comprise six games.