ATP
Williams, Alcaraz sent packing at USO mixed
Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz came and went on Tuesday at the hybrid US Open mixed doubles as the all-star pair were schooled 5-4, 4-1 by the Swiss-Italian side of Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli.
The defeat in the two-day abbreviated mixed which mimics an exhibition event, came after the Williams pair had advanced in their opening match of the day over Brit Lloyd Glasspool and Erin Routliffe, 5-3, 4-1, in the first round.
Alcaraz, now ranked third in the world after a wrist injury absence lasting nealry five months, looked tentative on serve, presumably not willing to risk his new fitness on the team game but was affected by the occasion of the moment.
“I think everybody could see, I double-faulted on the first point!” the Spaniard said. “I was really, really nervous playing alongside Serena.”
But he said his comeback effort was inspiring: “It’s still competition, full crowd.
“I almost forgot how I felt stepping on the court once again. But it was just a couple of games;
“(Serena) made it really easy for me to try and enjoy it and go for it every time.”
Williams was playing on the Ashe showcourt for the first time since she ended her WTA career at the venue in 2022.
“I mean, it’s always such an amazing place to be here. I never expected to be back on this court, so it was just a really cool moment. I never thought this would happen,” she said.
“This is such a bonus for us to be out here. To play with Carlos is honestly so cool; we’re just out here having fun.”
But the joy was ended by the experienced Bencic and Roland Garros finalist Cobolli who next face the husband-and-wife act of Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina on Wednesday.
Even Italy’s Cobollie felt the heat in sharing a court with Williams.
“When play with Serena, you cannot (not) be focussed. I have to be. So I feel the pressure. I feel the court, then I have to stay on it. If I don’t stay (on it), I play shit.”
Main photo:-Carlos Alcaraz and Serena Williams losing in the US Open “novelty mixed doubles” by ATPTour.com
Stan Wawrinka’s luck turned on a dime for the US Open, with the former tournament champion receiving a late main draw wild card through a twist of fate.
The 34-year-old Swiss who had posted an emotional goodbye to the Open after being rejected for a card earlier this week in favour of a 26-year-old journeyman ranked 114 Patrick Kypson who had not played since a second-round Wimbledon loss and has lost three times in USO qualifying.
Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam winner, lifted the Flushing Meadows trophy a decade ago.
Shortly after receiving the free entry, Kypson instead pulled out injured, sending Wawrinka, who will retire at season’s end, into the mix.
“I’m incredibly excited to accept the wild card for the 2026 US Open and look forward to competing in front of the fans in New York once again,” the Swiss said.
Earlier, Wawrinka had bid farewell to the event on social media in a heartfelt post.
“When I first arrived in New York from a small farming village in Switzerland, everything felt too big.
“The city. The noise. The energy. The crowds. The lights.
“But year after year New York slowly became one of my favorite places in the world,” he wrote.
“This city challenged me. It pushed me. It brought something out of me that few places ever could.
“I experienced some of the strongest emotions of my career here.
“The battles, the late nights, the incredible atmosphere, the love from the crowd … memories that will stay with me forever.
“Winning the US Open, in the city that never sleeps, will forever be one of the greatest moments of my life.”
Main photo:- Stan Wawrinka had a farewell toast at the 2026 Australian Open from Tournament Director Craig Tiley, who is now CEO for USTA
Roger Federer has no plans for a mid-40s comeback, with the retired icon happy to limit his on-court time to a Tuesday exhibition prior during the US Open run-up week.
The 45-year-old Swiss quit the sport in 2022, will pickup a racquet for the fist time prior to his induction into the Tennis Hall of Fame at the weekend.
And the winner of 20 Grand Slam titles judged as perhaps the best to ever play, admits he got some butterflies.
“I haven’t played a singles set in, I don’t know, (Hubert) Hurkacz at Wimbledon maybe, so it’s been five years,” Federer said on Monday.
“I don’t know how it’s going to go tomorrow. So there is a lot of uncertainty but a lot of happiness that I can return to Arthur Ashe, a place where I have had so many beautiful moments.”
Federer’s appearance will comprise one set against former rival Andy Roddick and a set of doubles alongside John McEnroe against Roddick and Andre Agassi.
The Swiss made sure to clarify that he would not be embarking on any kind of a comeback as have contemporaries Venus and Serena Williams – admittedly with little or no success.
“Thanks for asking,” he told a media conference at the US Open site.
“I wasn’t sure if the question was going to get asked, but I’m happy you did so I can clarify in case anybody thought,,,,,,,.”
Federer won the Flushing Meadows title uninterruptedly from 2004 through 2008 and reached two more finals.
Main photo:- Roger Federer’s penultimate title was in Halle 2021.
Lucky Stan snares a late wild card after all
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Williams, Alcaraz sent packing at USO mixed
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