Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz Get US Open Mixed Doubles Wild Card

Serena Williams will partner Carlos Alcaraz in mixed doubles at the US Open after the pair received a wild card from the US Tennis Association.

The mixed doubles main draw is scheduled to begin Tuesday, bringing together Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, and Alcaraz, who is set to defend his US Open singles title. The entry marks Williams’ first appearance at the US Open since 2022.

Williams returns to the US Open

Williams has returned to tennis this summer and will now feature in the mixed doubles competition in New York. Her decision to play alongside Alcaraz creates one of the headline pairings in the draw, with the USTA confirming the wild card on Saturday.

It will be Williams’ first time back at the US Open since her 2022 appearance. While her mixed doubles participation is confirmed, she has not yet said whether she will also enter the women’s singles event. The USTA is still holding one women’s wild card should Williams decide to compete in singles.

Her return this summer has already included singles at Wimbledon. Williams also played doubles with her older sister Venus Williams at the Cincinnati Open. The US Open mixed doubles entry adds another event to her comeback schedule, while leaving open the possibility of a singles appearance in New York.

The announcement provides a clear next step in Williams’ return to competition. Her participation in the mixed doubles main draw is confirmed for Tuesday, and any decision on women’s singles remains unresolved in the information released by the USTA.

Alcaraz set for singles title defence

Alcaraz announced this week that he would return to defend his US Open singles title. He had been sidelined since April with a right wrist injury, but his planned return means he is expected to take on both his singles title defence and mixed doubles duties with Williams.

The pairing brings together two players whose individual US Open plans are central to the tournament’s buildup. Williams is making her first appearance at the event in four years, while Alcaraz is returning as the defending singles champion after time away from the tour.

For Williams, mixed doubles offers a confirmed route back onto the US Open courts after her recent appearances at Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Open. For Alcaraz, the wild-card partnership comes as he prepares to resume competition following his injury layoff.

The USTA’s announcement did not provide further details on the pair’s opponents or draw position. What is known is that Williams and Alcaraz will enter the mixed doubles main draw as wild cards when the competition begins Tuesday.

Whether Williams adds women’s singles to her US Open schedule remains a question for the days ahead. The available USTA wild card means that option has not been ruled out, but her confirmed engagement is the mixed doubles campaign with Alcaraz.

What the wild card means

The wild card guarantees Williams and Alcaraz a place in the US Open mixed doubles main draw without needing to qualify through the standard entry process. It also ensures that Williams’ return to the tournament will include competitive action, regardless of whether she chooses to pursue a singles wild card.

The focus now shifts to Tuesday’s start of the mixed doubles draw. Williams and Alcaraz will begin their US Open campaign as a newly announced team, with Williams returning to the event for the first time since 2022 and Alcaraz arriving to defend his singles crown.