Tertius News is an AI-native newsroom: an AI model reads the linked source articles below and extracts what each outlet reported, so you can compare their coverage side by side. How this works →
New information became available — this story may be updated shortly.
Serena Williams, Carlos Alcaraz Team Up for US Open Mixed Doubles
Serena Williams will return to the US Open for the first time since 2022, teaming up with Carlos Alcaraz in the mixed doubles after receiving a wild card. The two-time defending men's champion Alcaraz is also making his comeback from a wrist injury, with the event scheduled for August 25-26.
Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz will team up for the US Open mixed doubles after receiving a wild card into the main draw, the U.S. Tennis Association announced on Saturday. The pairing marks Williams' first competitive appearance at the US Open since 2022, bringing the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion back to Flushing Meadows in a high-profile partnership with the defending men's singles champion.
Williams, 44, returned to competitive tennis in June after nearly four years away from the sport. Since her comeback, she has played at Queen's Club, Wimbledon, and Cincinnati, where she partnered with her sister Venus in doubles. The Williams sisters lost in the opening round of the Cincinnati Open to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns, their first tournament together since the 2022 US Open.
Alcaraz, who has been sidelined since April with a right wrist injury, confirmed earlier this week that he would return to New York to defend his US Open singles title. The mixed doubles event, which begins Tuesday, will give him a competitive outing before his singles campaign starts. Alcaraz expressed his excitement on X, posting "Let's gooooo!" with a fire emoji, tagging Williams.
The partnership brings together two generations of tennis greatness. Williams has won six US Open singles titles and claimed the mixed doubles title in 1998 with Max Mirnyi. Alcaraz, a two-time US Open men's champion and world No. 2, is looking to regain his form after a four-month layoff.
Williams' US Open Plans
Williams is not planning to play singles at this year's US Open. The USTA had been holding one women's wild card, which was given to Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion. This decision effectively rules out a singles appearance for Williams, who last played singles at the US Open in 2022, losing to Ajla Tomljanović in the third round.
Williams' return to tennis this summer has not been without challenges. She sustained a knee injury during her first-round loss to Maya Joint at Wimbledon in June. Despite this, she continued with doubles play, including the Cincinnati Open with Venus. It remains unclear whether the Williams sisters will also partner in the US Open women's doubles draw.
For Alcaraz, the mixed doubles provides an opportunity to ease back into competition. He has not played since April, missing the French Open and Wimbledon due to his wrist injury. The Spaniard, who won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2022, will be aiming to defend his singles crown when the main draw begins August 30.
Mixed Doubles Field and Format
The mixed doubles event has been revamped in recent years to attract top singles players. The winning team will share a $1 million prize, and the tournament is structured as a two-day, 16-team event. Matches use a best-of-three format with sets played to four games, no-ad scoring, and a 10-point match tiebreak if needed.
The field includes several high-profile pairings. Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic will team up, as will Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud. Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, who won the title in 2025, are defending champions. Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz re-paired after their original partners, Jack Draper and Elena Rybakina, withdrew from the event. Diana Shnaider, left without a partner when Daniil Medvedev withdrew, was given the chance to find a new partner before the draw.
Other wild card entries went to Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik, Emma Navarro and Tommy Paul, and Andreeva and Rublev. The qualifying tournament takes place Monday, with the main draw running Tuesday and Wednesday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Context on the Men's Singles Field
Alcaraz's return comes at a time when the men's singles draw has been affected by withdrawals. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner pulled out due to a right knee injury, having not played since winning Wimbledon in July. Jack Draper and Holger Rune also withdrew, citing injuries. With those absences, Alcaraz enters as the highest-ranked player in the men's field, strengthening his prospects for a successful title defence.
How each outlet told it
Al Jazeera
Framing: Teams up with Alcaraz—partnership announcement — Sympathetic factual: "powerhouse mixed doubles pair"
Facts Included:
Powerhouse mixed pair on US Open return; USTA wild card Saturday
Main draw Tuesday; $1 million winners
First US Open since 2022; returned this summer
Alcaraz X post "Let's gooooo!" fire emoji
Not planning singles; wild card to Sofia Kenin
Wimbledon knee injury; Cincinnati with Venus; could still play doubles together
Alcaraz defends title after wrist injury since April
1998 mixed with Mirnyi (works with Sabalenka)
Revamped two-day 16-team event
Field updates Pegula/Fritz, Navarro/Paul, Muchova/Mensik; Shnaider after Medvedev out
Full team list; Monday qualifying; Andreeva/Rublev and Stearns/Harrison qualifying WCs
Framing: Williams return via mixed with Alcaraz; centers her comeback — Sympathetic/celebratory: "create a powerhouse mixed doubles pair"
Facts Included:
USTA announced Saturday wild card for Williams and Alcaraz
Mixed doubles main draw begins Tuesday; winners share $1 million
Williams first U.S. Open since 2022; 23-time Grand Slam singles champion; returned this summer
Alcaraz "Let's gooooo!" on X with fire emoji
Williams not planning singles; women's wild card to Sofia Kenin (2020 Australian Open champion)
Wimbledon singles knee injury; Cincinnati doubles with Venus; may still play doubles together
Alcaraz returning to defend U.S. Open singles after right wrist injury since April
Williams 1998 mixed title with Max Mirnyi (now works with Sabalenka)
Revamped two-day 16-team event for top singles players
Field updates: Pegula/Fritz after Draper and Rybakina injuries; Navarro/Paul and Muchova/Mensik wild cards; Shnaider needs partner after Medvedev withdrawal
Listed main-draw teams; qualifying Monday with Andreeva/Rublev and Stearns/Harrison wild cards
Framing: Emphasizes draw outcome: they start against a qualifying team; leaves out comeback/injury narrative — Measured procedural: "will have to wait a little longer to learn their first opponent"
Facts Included:
Williams and Alcaraz drawn Sunday to face a team advancing from eight-team qualifying Monday
Williams returning to U.S. Open first time since 2022
Six-time U.S. Open singles champion; Alcaraz two-time men's champion
Wild card into 16-team tournament awarded Saturday
First round and quarterfinals Tuesday; semifinals and final Wednesday
Framing: Return after four years joined with Alcaraz—comeback duration emphasized — Sympathetic career retrospective: "high-profile return"; "glittering career"
Facts Included:
Mixed doubles wildcard with defending men's singles champion Alcaraz
44-year-old; first competitive US Open since 2022
Returned after nearly four years; Cincinnati doubles with Venus lost to Kostyuk/Stearns; first together since 2022 US Open
Six US Open singles titles; 1998 mixed with Mirnyi; also 1998 Wimbledon mixed; RG and AO mixed finals; 2019 Murray Wimbledon third round
Alcaraz first Slam title New York 2022; four-month wrist injury; defends men's crown
Second mixed Slam appearance; 2025 with Raducanu lost to Pegula/Draper
Framing: Alcaraz pairs with "Selena" Williams—pairing lead with name misspelling in headline — Informative with uncertainty section: "Will Williams participate in singles?"
Facts Included:
Wild card from USTA for 2026 US Open mixed
Alcaraz out since April right wrist; missed French Open and Wimbledon; returns to defend singles; mixed begins Tuesday as prior outing
Williams last US Open 2022; four years away; Cincinnati doubles with Venus opening-round loss
Six US Open singles titles; 1998 mixed with Mirnyi; two women's doubles with Venus
23 Slam singles titles for Williams
Field includes Djokovic/Sabalenka
Singles participation uncertain; USTA still has one women's wild card; played Wimbledon singles
Framing: Start against qualifying team—draw logistics over celebrity return — Measured/analytical on draw difficulty: "Facing one of the qualifiers will be a tough assignment"
Facts Included:
Drawn Sunday to face qualifier from eight-team Monday qualifying
Framing: Revamped mixed as creative way to grow sport—format debate, not pairing news alone (headline truncated in source) — Analytical feature with player voices: "undeniable hit"; balances criticism and praise
Facts Included:
Last year overhaul: fan week, four-game sets until final, no-ad, $1 million prize
78,000 fans over two days; participants included Alcaraz, Djokovic, Swiatek
Williams main-draw wild card with Alcaraz this year
Madison Keys quotes on shaking up tennis for younger audience; praises format and AO 1 Point Slam
Swiatek enjoyed freshness with Casper; lost final to Errani/Vavassori
Andreeva on Medvedev experience; pairs with Rublev this year
Pegula on Draper unfamiliarity then friendship; now with Fritz after Draper arm injury; confidence carryover
Criticism lack of doubles specialists; Errani/Vavassori only true pair last year
Qualifying Aug 24 eight duos for two spots; main then SF/final Wednesday
Errani calls qualifying improvement; Siniakova/Patten world No. 1s; Siniakova target-on-backs quote
Framing: International Sports slug plus pairing announcement; emphasizes team-up over draw difficulty — Sympathetic/promotional: "one of its most talked-about pairings"
Facts Included:
Pairing confirmed as one of eight wildcard entries in revamped mixed doubles
Announcement two days after Alcaraz confirmed return from right wrist injury
Williams comeback this summer; responded to Alcaraz return post with "I like seeing this"
Wildcard confirmed Saturday August 22; Alcaraz on X: "Let's gooooo! @serenawilliams"
Williams 23-time Grand Slam singles champion; grass season including Wimbledon; knee injury; Cincinnati doubles with Venus lost to Kostyuk/Stearns
Alcaraz 2025 mixed with Emma Raducanu lost opening round to Pegula/Draper
Williams 1998 US Open mixed title with Max Mirnyi
Format: sets to four games through semis, no-ad, 10-point match tiebreak
Field includes Djokovic/Sabalenka, Errani/Vavassori, Fritz/Pegula, Paul/Navarro, Stearns/Harrison, Menšík/Muchová, Andreeva/Rublev
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimSerena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz will team up in mixed doubles at the US Open.
ClaimJessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz will team up in the US Open mixed doubles after their previous partners Jack Draper and Elena Rybakina withdrew with injuries.
12 outlets · 13 articles consulted: Anchorage Daily News, Forbes, Hindustan Times, India TV News, The Japan Times, Malay Mail, The Nation (Pakistan ), Newsweek, New York Post, Times Now, The Times of India, UPI News54 claims extractedVersion 3Written 2026-08-23