U.S. Open: Serena Williams, Carlos Alcaraz knocked out of mixed doubles; Djokovic, Sabalenka eliminated, too

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Serena Williams of the U.S. and Spain's Carlos Alcaraz react during the U.S. Open mixed doubles quarterfinal match against Switzerland's Belinda Bencic and Italy's Flavio Cobolli | Photo Credit: Imagn Images via REUTERS

Serena Williams getting back on the court at the U.S. Open after a four-year absence and Carlos Alcaraz returning to competitive tennis after being out the past four months with injury brought cheers and nostalgia to the Grand Slam tournament.

After winning their debut playing together, Williams and Alcaraz got knocked out in the mixed doubles quarterfinals by Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli 5-4 (4), 4-1 on Tuesday (August 27, 2026).

Before the match, Cobolli called their opponents “the queen of tennis and the king of now.”

Carlos Alcaraz and Serena Williams talk on the court during the mixed doubles match | Photo Credit: AP

The star-studded duo with a combined eight U.S. Open singles championships certainly earned that praise. Williams and Alcaraz bounced back from a slow start in the first round to defeat Erin Routliffe and Lloyd Glasspool 5-3, 4-1, much to the delight of fans inside Arthur Ashe Stadium who were clearly on their side.

“I never expected to be back on this court,” Williams said after her first match at Flushing Meadows since 2022. “I never thought this would happen.”

Now the question is whether she will seek an encore performance in women's doubles alongside her older sister Venus. They won the U.S. Open twice among their 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together.

Serena, who is back playing tennis at age 44, does not plan to play singles.

Williams in her latest mixed doubles cameo — she won the U.S. Open with Max Mirnyi in 1998 — hit some vintage shots that looked straight out of her prime.

Serena Williams returns the ball during a mixed doubles match | Photo Credit: AP

Early on, she carried Alcaraz, the 23-year-old defending champion who's ranked third in the world in men's singles and was clearly rusty in his first competitive action since April 14.

“I think everybody could see: I double-faulted on the first point,” said Alcaraz, who missed the French Open and Wimbledon because of a right wrist injury and wore a sleeve on that arm. “I was really, really nervous. I was out for four months ... I almost forget how it feels.”