Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz saw their star-studded US Open mixed doubles run end in the quarterfinals, falling 5-4(4), 4-1 to Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli. The loss ended Williams’ memorable return to Arthur Ashe Stadium but added another headline moment to the revamped event.
Serena Williams Alcaraz exit in quarterfinals
Williams and Alcaraz entered Arthur Ashe Stadium carrying enormous expectations after winning their opening match against Erin Routliffe and Lloyd Glasspool. Their combination brought together one of tennis’ most decorated champions and the defending US Open men’s singles champion.
Bencic and Cobolli, however, handled the big moments better. Neither team broke serve in the opening set, forcing a tiebreak that the Swiss-Italian pair won 7-4. Cobolli then produced the decisive return in the second set to help secure the match’s first break before serving out the 55-minute victory.
Bencic said afterward that the pair could feel the “aura” of their famous opponents, while Cobolli acknowledged the difficulty of facing Williams and Alcaraz on the sport’s biggest stadium court.
Serena return creates Arthur Ashe buzz
The tournament marked Williams’ first competitive appearance at the US Open since her final match there in 2022. Now 44, she returned to New York alongside Alcaraz and immediately generated one of the loudest reactions of the mixed doubles competition.
Williams showed flashes of the power that defined her career, including strong returns, quick reactions at the net and a 120 mph ace during the event. Her partnership with Alcaraz also offered fans an unusual combination of generations, with the pair owning eight US Open singles titles between them.
Alcaraz was also making a significant comeback. The Spaniard played his first competitive tennis since suffering a wrist injury in Barcelona in April.
Bencic Cobolli advance to semifinals
Bencic and Cobolli entered the quarterfinal with more experience together than their opponents. They had already teamed up successfully earlier in 2026, winning the mixed doubles title at Indian Wells. That familiarity showed in their positioning and communication against Williams and Alcaraz.
Their reward is a semifinal against husband-and-wife pair Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils. Svitolina and Monfils produced one of the tournament’s biggest surprises by defeating doubles standouts Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten 5-4(6), 4-5(3), 10-8.
Mixed doubles format delivers major upsets
The revamped US Open mixed doubles competition uses first-to-four-game sets, no-ad scoring and a 10-point match tiebreak instead of a third set. The shortened format has helped create faster matches and several high-profile upsets.
Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka were eliminated in the opening round by Siniakova and Patten. Defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori were also knocked out, losing to Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev.
Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik completed the semifinal lineup alongside Andreeva-Rublev, Bencic-Cobolli and Svitolina-Monfils.
US Open gains from star-powered experiment
Williams and Alcaraz will not leave New York with the mixed doubles trophy, but their appearance achieved something equally valuable for the tournament: attention. Their two matches filled Arthur Ashe with an atmosphere normally reserved for the latter stages of singles competition.
For Williams, the return offered another memorable chapter at a stadium where she won six singles titles. For Alcaraz, it provided competitive match play ahead of the singles tournament.
The result also showed why the shortened format can be unpredictable. Star power may attract the crowd, but established chemistry and doubles instincts can quickly decide a match.
