Serena Williams’s return to the US Open began with an opening round victory in the mixed doubles event before she and partner Carlos Alcaraz fell in the quarter-finals.
The all-star pairing beat Erin Routliffe and Lloyd Glasspool 5-3 4-1 in the first round before losing 5-4(7-4) 4-1 to fourth seeds Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli, while top seeds Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka crashed out in their opener.
Married pair Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina booked their place in the semi-finals with a thrilling win over doubles world No 1s Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten, winning a deciding tie-break after over an hour and a half on court.
They will face Bencic and Cobolli, while the all-Czech pairing of Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik will play either Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev or Diana Shnaider – Andreeva’s regular doubles partner – and Casper Ruud.
23-time major winner Williams had not competed at Arthur Ashe Stadium since her tearful farewell from the sport in 2022 and the crown jewel of American tennis erupted in deafening cheers as their queen took the court again.
The partisan crowd tried to keep Williams and Alcaraz in it as they were overpowered by Bencic and Cobolli, but they could not replicate their first-round exploits in a last-eight defeat.
The mixed doubles kicked off on Tuesday in the second year of its revamped format, which put singles stars in the spotlight in an effort to lure more fans in a standalone spot the week before the singles main draw.
The move proved a commercial success in its debut year, drawing sellout crowds and attracting many of the sport’s biggest singles names despite criticism from some doubles specialists, who argued it marginalised established pairings.
However this year the doubles specialists have struggled: nine players made it into the main draw but all lost before the semi-finals.
Djokovic and Sabalenka came unstuck against the experienced doubles players Patten and Siniakova, losing 1-4 4-2 10-2, as Siniakova sealed the match in style with an ace out wide on match point, before the pair lost to Svitolina and Monfils in a high-quality clash.
Last year’s champions, Italian duo Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, lost to Andreeva and Rublev 1-4 4-1 11-9 in the first round.
Additional reporting by Reuters
