US Open Mixed Doubles: Serena Williams and Alcaraz to open against Routliffe & Glasspool

Carlos Alcaraz and Serena Williams (Pic: ATP)

Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz are set to kick off the US Open mixed doubles competition against a tandem featuring the reigning women's doubles titleholder.

Playing in her first match at Flushing Meadows since 2022, Williams joins forces with Alcaraz to meet qualifiers Erin Routliffe and Lloyd Glasspool on Tuesday.

Routliffe previously paired with Gabriela Dabrowski to capture back-to-back US Open women's doubles crowns in 2023 and 2024.

Top seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic, holding the lowest combined singles ranking in the 16-team tournament, face an exceptionally formidable opener. The duo will square off against Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten, both of whom occupy the World No. 1 ranking on their respective doubles tours.

The first-round fixtures and quarter-finals take place on Tuesday, with the semi-finals and championship match scheduled for Wednesday.

The structure of the US Open this year

Williams and Alcaraz were slotted to face a team emerging from Monday's eight-team qualifying event. Routliffe and Glasspool secured their main-draw berth by battling through two consecutive matches that both required deciding match tiebreakers.

Meanwhile, World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and Djokovic were originally set to play Leylah Fernandez and Frances Tiafoe. However, Tiafoe pulled out of the mixed doubles field on Monday following his singles loss to Arthur Fils in the Cincinnati Open final.

Siniakova and Patten won both their matches to reach the main draw. Kristina Mladenovic and Marcelo Arevalo, who lost to Routliffe and Glasspool in their second match, got the remaining spot and will play Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik.

The eight-team qualifying tournament was added this year to give the traditional doubles specialists an opportunity to compete for the U.S. Open title. When the tournament was overhauled last year, with a USD 1 million prize for the winners, in an effort to get top singles players to compete, direct entry was based on singles rankings, essentially shutting out the players who largely focus on doubles.

Williams is not planning to play singles in New York. Alcaraz, who has been sidelined since April with a right wrist injury, will return to defend his singles title. Former winner Jannik Sinner has withdrawn due to an injury.