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Serena and Venus get wild-card for 2026 U.S. Open doubles

8/26/2026

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Summary

Williams Sisters Wildcard

Serena Williams (44) and Venus Williams (46) received a wild-card for women’s doubles at the 2026 U.S. Open.
It is the sisters’ 10th U.S. Open doubles pairing, and they hold a 27-7 record there.
They lost their first-round match at the Cincinnati Open to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns.
Serena also played mixed doubles with Carlos Alcaraz, reaching the quarterfinals before losing.

Summary

Mixed Doubles Revamp

The mixed-doubles event now uses four-game sets with a 4-all tiebreak and 10-point decider.
The championship final returns to six-game sets, preserving a Grand Slam feel.
The 2025 overhaul cut the draw to 16 teams and moved it to a week before singles.
Organisers tout the $1 million prize as a lure for singles players, despite doubles specialists’ criticism.
Attendance surged with sell-out crowds in the debut year, indicating commercial success.

History

Historical Context

The US Open made history in 1973 when Billie Jean King’s pressure led the tournament to award men’s and women’s singles champions—John Newcombe and Margaret Court—equal $25,000, the first Grand Slam to do so. Building on that equity legacy, the 2026 edition granted wild-cards to Serena and Venus Williams and offered a $1 million mixed-doubles purse, underscoring the lasting impact of the 1973 reforms.

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Williams Sisters Wildcard

Serena Williams (44) and Venus Williams (46) received a wild-card for women’s doubles at the 2026 U.S. Open.
It is the sisters’ 10th U.S. Open doubles pairing, and they hold a 27-7 record there.
They lost their first-round match at the Cincinnati Open to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns.
Serena also played mixed doubles with Carlos Alcaraz, reaching the quarterfinals before losing.

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