US Open 2026 Mixed Doubles Draw Sets Alcaraz-Williams Opener

Carlos Alcaraz and Serena Williams will open their US Open 2026 mixed doubles campaign against a qualifier after the draw for the 16-team event was revealed on Sunday. The wildcard pairing is making its first return to the US Open since 2022 and enters a newly arranged tournament that brings together leading singles players, doubles specialists and former champions.

Alcaraz and Williams have been placed in the same half of the draw as another team yet to emerge from qualifying. Their opening opponent will come through a qualifying event introduced this year after complaints that doubles specialists were being left out of the redesigned competition.

The qualification route could provide a demanding first assignment for the wildcard duo, with doubles specialists expected to feature in that portion of the event. The compact field means every first-round match carries immediate significance as the teams compete for the mixed doubles title.

Djokovic and Sabalenka drawn against Tiafoe and Fernandez

Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka will begin against the wildcard team of Francis Tiafoe and Leylah Fernandez. Djokovic and Sabalenka are on the opposite side of the draw from Alcaraz and Williams, leaving open the possibility that the two high-profile pairings could only meet later in the tournament.

The second-seeded American pair of Taylor Fritz and Jessica Pegula has been drawn against Casper Ruud and Diana Shnaider. Fritz and Pegula are among the seeded teams in a draw that includes several wildcard entries and a blend of established doubles competitors and singles players.

Two-time defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori will start their title defence against Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev. Errani and Vavassori arrive as the reigning champions, while Andreeva and Rublev are listed as a wildcard pairing in the published draw.

Elsewhere, wildcard team Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina will play Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alexandra Eala. Fourth seeds Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli have drawn the wildcard combination of Alexander Zverev and Taylor Townsend.

Tommy Paul and Emma Navarro face a first-round test against third seeds Learner Tien and Amanda Anisimova. The remaining match pairs Jakub Mensik and Karolina Muchova with a qualifier, ensuring that two places in the first round will be filled through the new qualifying competition.

A compact draw with varied pairings

The US Open 2026 mixed doubles event has been designed around a 16-team field, with the draw combining seeded entries, wildcard teams, qualifiers, defending champions and prominent singles players. That structure has placed several attention-grabbing pairings into the opening round while retaining a route for doubles specialists through qualifying.

For Alcaraz and Williams, the immediate focus is the qualifier assigned to their section. Djokovic and Sabalenka, meanwhile, know they will begin against Tiafoe and Fernandez. Fritz and Pegula, Errani and Vavassori, Bencic and Cobolli, and Tien and Anisimova are the seeded teams identified in the first-round bracket.

The draw has set the opening matchups for a tournament intended to add another point of interest to the US Open. With a limited number of teams and no margin for a slow start, the mixed doubles competition will begin with a series of notable first-round contests.