Tennis legends Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz were knocked out of the U.S. Open mixed doubles quarterfinals on Tuesday, losing to Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli despite winning their opening match together.
Serena Williams' return to competitive tennis at age 44 and Carlos Alcaraz's comeback after four months of injury rehabilitation generated significant excitement at the U.S. Open, but their mixed doubles partnership ended in the quarterfinals. The pairing lost 5-4 (4), 4-1 to Switzerland's Belinda Bencic and Italy's Flavio Cobolli on Tuesday.
The star combination had impressed in their debut together, defeating Erin Routliffe and Lloyd Glasspool 5-3, 4-1 in the first round before a crowd that gave them enthusiastic support at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Williams, competing at the Grand Slam for the first time since 2022, said she was surprised to return to the court. Alcaraz, the defending U.S. Open champion ranked third globally in men's singles, admitted to nerves and rustiness after missing the French Open and Wimbledon due to a right wrist injury.
Against Bencic and Cobolli, Williams and Alcaraz struggled as the match progressed. The pair surrendered the opening set tiebreaker and were dominated in the second set. Bencic noted the surreal experience of competing against such accomplished opponents, while Cobolli acknowledged feeling tight facing the celebrated duo. The tournament's new mixed doubles format features truncated matches in early rounds, with sets played to four games instead of six, designed to attract top-ranked players with a $1 million prize for champions.
