Alcaraz and Williams Exit US Open Mixed Doubles in Quarter-Finals

Carlos Alcaraz and Serena Williams reached the US Open mixed doubles quarter-finals before losing to Flavio Cobolli and Belinda Bencic in New York on Tuesday. BBC Sport reported that the high-profile partnership drew about 15,000 spectators to Arthur Ashe Stadium as the revamped event began.

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Alcaraz and Williams opened with a 5-3, 4-1 victory over Britain's Lloyd Glasspool and New Zealand's Erin Routliffe. After a slow start, they won eight of the final nine games to advance. Their run ended later in the day when Italy's Cobolli and Switzerland's Bencic won 5-4, with a 7-4 tie-break, and 4-1.

The appearance marked Alcaraz's first competitive match since April after a wrist injury. BBC Sport said the seven-time major champion admitted to nerves on his return, including a double fault on the opening point. Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, was playing at the US Open for the first time since stepping away from tennis in 2022.

Williams, now 44, previously won the US Open mixed doubles title with Max Mirnyi in 1998. She will not play in this year's singles tournament, but her return to Arthur Ashe Stadium added another notable chapter to an event built around prominent singles players. Alcaraz, meanwhile, gained two matches of competitive court time before the singles draw begins.

The competition's altered entry system has been debated because top singles players and wildcard teams can enter directly, while established doubles players may have to qualify. Glasspool and Henry Patten were among those required to come through two qualifying rounds on Monday. All four specialist doubles pairings in the main event were eliminated by teams of singles players on Tuesday.

Cobolli and Bencic will next face Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina in Wednesday's semi-finals. The other semi-final will match Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev against Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik. Patten and Katerina Siniakova had earlier eliminated Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka before losing to Monfils and Svitolina in the quarter-finals.