Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz play in the U.S. Open mixed doubles tournament on Tuesday and, if they advance, Wednesday in Queens, New York.
Williams, playing her first U.S. Open since 2022, and Alcaraz, playing his first tournament of any kind since April after a wrist injury, received a wild card into the mixed doubles.
The U.S. Open revamped its mixed doubles tournament in 2025, moving it to the week before the main draw tournaments start in singles, increasing prize money (from $200,000 for the winning team to $1 million) and incentivizing the top singles players to take part.
Where can I watch Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz?
The first two rounds of the U.S. Open mixed doubles tournament air Tuesday on ESPN2 (10 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET) and ESPN+ (3-5 p.m.).
The semifinals are Wednesday from 7-9 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The championship match is Wednesday from 9-11 p.m. on ESPN.
The full U.S. Open broadcast schedule is here.
When do Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz play?
In the first round on Tuesday, Williams and Alcaraz play Erin Routliffe of New Zealand and Lloyd Glasspool of Great Britain, each a Grand Slam doubles champion. The match is scheduled for not before 2 p.m. at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
If they win their first match, they will play in the second round later on Tuesday. Their second round opponent would be Swiss Belinda Bencic and Italian Flavio Cobolli or American Taylor Townsend and German Alexander Zverev.
The last two rounds are Wednesday starting at 7 p.m. ET.
U.S. Open 2026 mixed doubles draw
The draw for the 2026 U.S. Open mixed doubles tournament is below.
There are 16 teams in the main draw, with the first two rounds on Tuesday and the semifinals and final on Wednesday.
What is Serena Williams’ mixed doubles history?
Williams is playing her first Grand Slam mixed doubles tournament since 2019 Wimbledon, when she reached the third round with Andy Murray. That was just her second Grand Slam mixed doubles start in 20 years -- she lost in the first round of the 2012 French Open with Bob Bryan.
As a 16-year-old, Williams won two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles with Max Mirnyi of Belarus at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 1998.
Williams never played mixed doubles at the Olympics. The Olympics brought mixed doubles back starting with the 2012 London Games.
