Serena Williams is back at the U.S. Open for her first match at the Grand Slam tournament since 2022. Williams and No. 2 ranked men's player Carlos Alcaraz are playing in mixed doubles later Tuesday. Williams and Alcaraz are facing one half of the reigning women's doubles champions, Erin Routliffe, and Lloyd Glasspool in the first round. Williams is not planning to play singles in New York. Alcaraz, who has been sidelined since April with a right wrist injury, will return to defend his singles title.

Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz will open the U.S. Open mixed doubles tournament against a team that features the reigning women’s doubles champion. Williams and Alcaraz will face Erin Routliffe and Lloyd Glasspool on Tuesday in the first round of the championship, which will be Williams’ first match at the U.S. Open since 2022. Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic might have an even tougher draw. The top seeds, based on having the lowest combined singles ranking in the 16-team field, face the team of Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten. They are the No. 1-ranked doubles players on their respective tours.

Coco Gauff defeated fellow American Jessica Pegula, 6-2, 6-4, to capture her second women’s Cincinnati Open title on Sunday, and Arthur Fils of France defeated American Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 1-6, 6-0 in the men’s final for his first Masters 1000 title. The last time two American women played in the Cincinnati final was in 1970, when Rosie Casals beat Nancy Richey. Gauff, who won the 2023 title beating Karolina Muchova, stormed out to a 5-0 lead in the first set on Sunday before winning 6-2. Pegula battled back to within 5-4 in the second before Gauff closed out the win. Gauff won five of six break points. The Fils-Tiafoe match was the first time two Black players have met in an ATP Masters 1000 final.

Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz will have to wait a little longer to learn their first opponent in the U.S. Open mixed doubles championship. Williams and Alcaraz were drawn Sunday to face one of the teams that advances from the eight-team qualifying tournament that will be played Monday. Williams will be returning to the U.S. Open for the first time since 2022. The six-time singles champion and Alcaraz, who has won the men’s title twice, were awarded a wild card into the 16-team tournament Saturday. The first round and quarterfinals of the mixed doubles are Tuesday, with the semifinals and final on Wednesday.

Serena Williams will team up with Carlos Alcaraz to create a powerhouse mixed doubles pair in her return to the U.S. Open. The U.S. Tennis Association announced Saturday that Williams and Alcaraz had been given a wild card into the tournament. The mixed doubles main draw begins Tuesday. It will be Williams’ first time playing at the U.S. Open since 2022. She returned to tennis this summer. Alcaraz announced this week he would return to defend his U.S. Open singles title after being sidelined since April with a right wrist injury. Williams isn't planning to play singles in New York.

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner withdrew from the U.S. Open on Friday because of a right knee injury. Sinner hasn’t played since winning the Wimbledon title last month and determined that he wasn’t ready to play when the main draw begins on Aug. 30. Sinner was the 2024 U.S. Open champion and lost to Carlos Alcaraz in last year’s final.