The US Open Mixed Doubles Challenge has announced its 2026 entry list and Carlos Alcaraz and Serena Williams are nowhere to be seen.
The event took place for the first time in 2025 as top singles star were placed together in the first week of the US Open with $1 million in prize money on the line.
The tournament was won by Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, who will be back in the tournament to defend their crown at the Flushing Meadows event.
Last year saw teams such as Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu, Novak Djokovic and Olga Danilović, and Amanda Anisimova and Holger Rune, but none of those teams are back for the 2026 event.
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Novak Djokovic will team with Aryna Sabalenka this year and they are one of four ‘headline’ couples announced by the American Grand Slam.
They will compete against Casper Ruud and Iga Swiatek and Jack Draper and Jessica Pegula, both of whom were paired together for the 2025 event.
Elsewhere, there will be North American duo Leylah Fernandez and Frances Tiafoe, brother-sister team Peyton Stearns and Preston Stearns, and brand-new team Amanda Anisimova and Learner Tien.
- Novak Djokovic & Aryna Sabalenka
- Casper Ruud & Iga Swiatek
- Jack Draper & Jessica Pegula
- Leylah Fernandez and Frances Tiafoe
- Peyton Stearns & Preston Stearns
- Taylor Townsend & Alexander Zverev
- Elena Rybakina & Taylor Fritz
- Belinda Bencic & Flavio Cobolli
- Sara Errani & Andrea Vavassori
- Alexandra Eala & Felix Auger-Aliassime
- Naomi Osaka & Kei Nishikori
- Diana Shnaider and Daniil Medvedev
- Amanda Anisimova & Learner Tien
- Katerina Siniakova & Henry Patten
- Elena-Gabriel Ruse & Nuno Borges
- Mirra Andreeva & Andrey Rublev
Alex Eala will be making her debut at the tournament and she will be playing alongside Felix Auger-Aliassime. Other starrry duo who have signed up for the tournament are Alexander Zverev and Taylor Townsend, Diana Shnaider and Daniil Medvedev, and Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev.
Kei Nishikori, who will play the event for the first time in what is his final year in tennis, is set to be partnered with Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka.
In a statement, new USTA chief executive Craig Tiley said: “Anytime you can bring women and men together on the same team, you showcase tennis at its best.”
Eight more sets of names are set to be added as wildcards, so there is still hope for fans wanting to see Alcaraz at the Grand Slam pre-event.
Alcaraz has been widely rumoured to be pairing with Williams, who herself returned to tennis during the grass court swing in June. She played Queen’s, the Berlin Open, and Wimbledon.
In the latter, she played in the singles, where she lost in the first round to Maya Joint. The star was set to play doubles alongside Venus Williams, but a knee injury forced her out of the competition.
The post US Open mixed doubles: Novak Djokovic, Aryna Sabalenka, and Alexandra Eala partners announced appeared first on Tennis365.
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