Serena Williams, Carlos Alcaraz will play mixed doubles at the U.S. Open

Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz will compete in mixed doubles at the U.S. Open, marking Williams' return to the tournament after a four-year hiatus. The U.S. Tennis Association granted the pair wild cards to participate. The mixed doubles main draw commences on Tuesday. This will be Williams' first appearance at the U.S. Open since 2022.

The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion recently returned to professional tennis this summer and has not yet decided whether to compete in singles. The USTA has set aside one women's wild card spot for her consideration. Williams accepted invitations to compete in both singles and doubles at Wimbledon in June following a four-year absence from the court.

She lost in the first round of singles to 20-year-old Maya Joint and withdrew from a doubles match with her sister Venus due to a knee injury. Williams did participate in doubles with her sister at the Cincinnati Open earlier this month, their first such match since 2022 when they lost to Czech duo Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova.

Alcaraz announced his intention to defend his U.S. Open singles title, which he won in February, after being sidelined since April due to a right wrist injury. In February, he achieved a historic feat by becoming the youngest player to complete a career Grand Slam by defeating Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open.