Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz learned their first-round opponent in US Open mixed doubles Monday night. It is Erin Routliffe and Lloyd Glasspool, a team that includes the reigning women’s doubles champion, who qualified through a grueling two-match day that required match tiebreakers in both wins.
The first round and quarterfinals take place Tuesday, with the semifinals and final Wednesday. The winning pair shares $1 million.
Routliffe and Glasspool qualified for the main draw through Monday’s eight-team qualifying tournament, winning two matches, each decided in a match tiebreaker. Routliffe previously won the US Open women’s doubles title in 2023 and 2024 alongside partner Gabriela Dabrowski. Their most recent championship came at this tournament last year when they beat the team of Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend.
The draw and what changed
The top seeds, Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic, have a challenging draw as well. They were originally scheduled to face Leylah Fernandez and Frances Tiafoe. But Tiafoe withdrew from mixed doubles on Monday following his loss to Arthur Fils in the Cincinnati Open final on Sunday. That withdrawal opened a qualifying spot, which went to Siniakova and Henry Patten, both ranked No. 1 on their respective doubles tours. They won both qualifying matches to earn their place.
The remaining qualifying spot went to Kristina Mladenovic and Marcelo Arevalo, who lost to Routliffe and Glasspool in their second qualifying match. They will face Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik in the first round.
Why the qualifying draw exists
The eight-team qualifying tournament is new this year. The US Open overhauled its mixed doubles format last year with a $1 million prize for the winning team, making direct entry based on singles rankings, which effectively closed the door for players who focus primarily on doubles.
The qualifying event was added this year specifically to create a pathway for those doubles specialists, and Monday’s results showed its value. Routliffe and Glasspool, among the best doubles players in the world and the mixed doubles qualifying winners, were able to earn a main draw spot through competition rather than being locked out by their singles ranking.
Serena and Alcaraz
This is Serena’s first match at the US Open since 2022. She is not playing singles at this year’s tournament. Alcaraz, the defending men’s singles champion, is returning from a right wrist injury that has sidelined him since April. Mixed doubles gives him competitive match play before his singles campaign begins.
The Williams-Alcaraz pairing presents an unusual challenge for any opponent. Williams has won six US Open singles titles and knows Flushing Meadows as well as anyone who has ever played there. Alcaraz is among the two or three best players in the world right now. Neither has played mixed doubles together before this event, which is the central uncertainty heading into Tuesday.
Routliffe brings genuine doubles credentials and has already proven she can win at this venue. Whether that experience in mixed formats outweighs what Williams and Alcaraz bring in individual talent will be one of Tuesday’s more interesting competitive questions.
