Aryna Sablenka and Serena Williams. Image Credits: Imago

2026 US Open mixed doubles draw features Sabalenka-Djokovic and Williams-Alcaraz

Aug 24, 2026, 4:10 PM CUT

The US Open has released its 2026 mixed doubles draw, and it is headlined by two pairings that would have felt unthinkable a year ago.

Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz will team up in New York, while top seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic will also join forces.

Both pairings bring major singles star power to a mixed doubles event that has rapidly become one of the US Open's biggest attractions.

Top seeds Sabalenka-Djokovic open against wild cards Leylah Fernandez and Frances Tiafoe, according to the draw announcement by the US Open Tennis on X.

Williams and Alcaraz will open against a qualifier, with the winner potentially facing fourth seeds Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli or wild cards Taylor Townsend and Alexander Zverev.

251011 -- WUHAN, Oct. 11, 2025 -- Aryna Sabalenka reacts during the women s singles semifinal between Jessica Pegula of the United States and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus at the 2025 Wuhan Open tennis tournament in Wuhan, central China s Hubei Province, Oct. 11, 2025. SPCHINA-WUHAN-TENNIS-WUHAN OPEN-WOMEN S SINGLES CN WuxZhizun PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxCHN

Qualifying begins on Monday, August 24, with three British players in the mix: world No. 1 doubles player Henry Patten, Australian Open men's doubles champion Neal Skupski, and 2025 Wimbledon winner Lloyd Glasspool. Each needs to win two matches to reach the already stacked main draw.

Alcaraz is also returning after a lengthy injury absence. The seven-time Grand Slam champion has not competed since April because of a right wrist injury, missing the French Open and Wimbledon before confirming his return to New York last week.

Williams is returning after a lengthy absence of her own. She last competed at Flushing Meadows in 2022 before making her Grand Slam return at Wimbledon this year.

Second seeds Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz face Diana Shnaider and Casper Ruud, an all-American pairing formed after 2025 partners Jack Draper and Elena Rybakina were sidelined by injury, according to Shlomo Sprung of Yahoo Sports.

Rising duo Amanda Anisimova and Learner Tien face third seeds Emma Navarro and Tommy Paul, while defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori meet wild cards Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev.

Why is US Open mixed doubles suddenly so important?

As Shlomo Sprung of Yahoo Sports noted, the US Open had buried mixed doubles in the tournament's third week for years, well behind singles and easy for fans and top players to overlook.

That changed in 2025 when the USTA moved the event to Fan Week, attached a $1 million prize for the winning team, and watched the whole thing take off.

The tournament pulled in 78K fans, sold out Arthur Ashe Stadium twice, and set a single-day viewership record on YouTube with 12.8 million views, per the USTA figures Sprung cited.

"We wanted to take the US Open mixed doubles championship and give it the spotlight it deserved," Brendan McIntyre, the tournament's head of communications and content, told Yahoo Sports.

McIntyre added that the star power the event drew last year made it clear the format was here to stay.

Sabalenka will make her US Open mixed doubles debut alongside Djokovic, with the pairing built on friendship as much as talent. The two are close enough to have even crashed each other's press conferences.

Play begins Tuesday, August 25, on Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong Stadiums, with the semifinals and final set for a Wednesday night session.

With Alcaraz and Williams both returning from time away and Sabalenka and Djokovic anchoring the top of the draw, the event has stopped being a sideshow and turned into one of the tournament's genuine attractions.

Written by

Rudra Dubey