Serena Williams’ return to the U.S. Open after a four-year absence and Carlos Alcaraz’s comeback to competitive tennis after a four-month injury layoff brought cheers, excitement and a wave of nostalgia to Flushing Meadows.
The celebration, however, was short-lived.
Williams and Alcaraz were eliminated from the mixed doubles quarterfinals Tuesday, losing to Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli 5-4 (4), 4-1.
Cobolli had dubbed their opponents before the match “the queen of tennis and the king of now,” a fitting description for a star-studded pairing with eight U.S. Open singles titles between them.
Williams and Alcaraz had thrilled the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd in their opening match, overcoming a slow start to beat Erin Routliffe and Lloyd Glasspool 5-3, 4-1. The fans were firmly behind the high-profile duo throughout the contest.
“I never expected to be back on this court,” Williams said after playing at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2022. “I never thought this would happen.”
Now, attention turns to whether Williams will make another appearance at the tournament, potentially alongside her older sister, Venus, in women’s doubles.
The Williams sisters have won the U.S. Open twice and captured 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together, making a reunion on the court one of the tournament’s most anticipated possibilities.
Serena, who is back playing tennis at age 44, does not plan to play singles.
Williams, in her latest mixed doubles appearance, hit some vintage shots that looked straight out of her prime. She won the U.S. Open mixed doubles title with Max Mirnyi in 1998.
Early on, she carried Alcaraz, the 23-year-old defending champion who is ranked No. 3 in the world 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.”
Fans chanted, “Come on, Carlos!” and “Let’s go, Serena, let’s go!” But the pair was overpowered by Bencic and Cobolli, letting a first-set tiebreaker slip away before being dominated in the second.
Cobolli acknowledged being tight because Williams and Alcaraz were on the other side of the net. Bencic said Williams tried to intimidate her by telling her she speaks Italian better.
“It was surreal to play against Carlos,” Bencic said. “Sometimes I was just standing at the volley or the return, and I was like, ‘How did I end up on this court?’ I don’t really know. Just a huge honor. Obviously, you can feel both of their auras.”
The matches in the first three rounds feature sets played to four games, with a tiebreaker at 4-all and a 10-point tiebreaker instead of a third set. Only the final Wednesday night will resemble a regular match, with traditional sets played to six games.
The champions will receive $1 million in the second year of the new mixed doubles format, which is designed to attract top players.
Joining Bencic and Cobolli in the semifinals are Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils, Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev, and Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik.
