Aug 22 (Reuters) – Serena Williams will make her competitive return to the U.S. Open alongside defending men’s singles champion Carlos Alcaraz after the pair received a wildcard for the mixed doubles event, tournament organisers said on Saturday.
It will be Williams’ first competitive appearance at Flushing Meadows since 2022. The American, a 23-times Grand Slam singles champion and six-times U.S. Open winner, also captured the mixed doubles title in New York in 1998 with Max Mirnyi.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka will partner Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, while Jessica Pegula will team up with fellow American Taylor Fritz in the mixed doubles competition.
Williams returned to doubles action this month alongside her sister Venus at the Cincinnati Open, but the pair lost in the opening round in their first tournament together since 2022.
The 44-year-old Serena announced her return to competitive tennis in June after a four-year absence.
(Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
