Serena Williams received a rousing welcome back to Flushing Meadows on Tuesday, making an emotional US Open return alongside Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz in the mixed doubles draw.
The 44-year-old tennis great continued her comeback run at the very Grand Slam where she brought the curtain down on her playing career four years ago.
Williams said she was “evolving away” from tennis after the 2022 US Open. Yet after reappearing on the sport’s biggest stages at Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Open earlier this year, she was back under the lights and attention of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The US Tennis Association confirmed on Saturday that Williams and Alcaraz, 23, had received a wild card into the final Grand Slam of the season.
Their entry placed them in a high-profile 16-team mixed doubles field chasing a $1million prize, marking a headline-making US Open comeback for Williams.
The pair walked out on the iconic Arthur Ashe court on Tuesday afternoon for their opening-round match against Lloyd Glasspool and Erin Routliffe.
Serena Williams made an emotional US Open return in mixed doubles on Tuesday
The 44-year-old joined forces with Spanish ace Carlos Alcaraz (pictured) for the event
The tennis legend stepped back from the sport following the 2022 US Open
It will be the 44-year-old’s first time playing at the US Open since 2022. The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion returned to tennis earlier this summer.
But she is not planning to play singles in New York. The USTA had been holding one women’s wild card – presumably in case Williams wanted it. On Saturday, however, organizers announced it had gone to American Sofia Kenin , the 2020 Australian Open champion.
Williams played singles at Wimbledon, losing in the first round and sustaining a knee injury, before teaming up with older sister Venus to play doubles at the Cincinnati Open. In their first match together since the 2022 US Open, the sisters were beaten by Peyton Stearns and Marta Kostyuk, 6-2, 1-6, 10-8.
Serena Williams has won a US Open mixed doubles title before, taking the crown in 1998 alongside Max Mirnyi, who now works with Aryna Sabalenka . Nearly three decades on, the competition is now a star-studded, two-day competition, with Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic among the other big names taking part this year.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, announced this week he would return to defend his US Open singles title after being sidelined since April with a right wrist injury.
News of his comeback – and his partnership with Williams – is a huge boost for fans after rival Jannik Sinner pulled out.
The world No 1 announced on Friday that he will miss the US Open with a knee injury.
In a statement on social media, the Italian wrote: ‘Even though I have been working hard with my team and my medical staff, we have now had to make the difficult decision that I will not be able to compete at the US Open this year.
The tennis icon continued her comeback tour, returning to the Grand Slam in New York
Serena Williams’ Wimbledon singles comeback came to an early end on Tuesday
The legend was supported by her husband Alexis Ohanian and their two daughters
‘We have been back on court in Monte Carlo over the last couple of days and have realised that I still need more time to recover from my right knee issue.
‘I’m obviously very sad and disappointed, as New York has a special place in my heart. I was very much looking forward to coming back and playing in the electric atmosphere in front of the great fans there.’
Sinner turned pro in 2018 and has never missed a Grand Slam tournament in his entire career, winning five in total – including the US Open two years ago and Wimbledon this summer.
The 25-year-old has been dominant so far in 2026, winning the first five ATP Masters 1000 events, two of which in the US in Indian Wells and Miami.
After crashing out of Wimbledon in the first round and suffering a similar fate alongside sister Venus in the women’s doubles in Cincinnati, many have questioned if Williams still possesses her titan talent.
Others may be more focused on the question mark over one particular detail of her preparation -whether Williams has continued to use GLP-1 jabs managed by telehealth company Ro, of which she became a vocal paid spokesperson for last year.
Williams returned to tennis this summer and played with sister Venus at the Cincinnati Open
The seven-time Wimbledon champion’s husband Alexis Ohanian sits on the company’s board and was an early investor. As recently as this February Williams, the company’s celebrity face, featured in a Super Bowl advert for the brand and its Zepbound tirzepatide jab, which is also marketed under the name Mounjaro.
Williams, who is said to have lost close to two and a half stone, or 34 pounds (15kg) using the drug, previously called her challenge to lose weight following the birth of her two children ‘the one opponent (she) couldn’t beat’.
It remains unclear as to whether Williams has continued to use the drug, which also treats symptoms of diabetes, with her publicist declining to comment when asked by the Atlantic.
But although GLP-1s are not banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), they are one of the drugs under ongoing investigation as to whether they might be classed as performance-enhancing in the future.
