Last updated August 27, 2026, following the conclusion of the mixed doubles tournament and Iga Swiatek’s withdrawal.
The US Open 2026 Mixed Doubles field has taken its final shape, and it looks considerably different from the original 29-team entry list.
Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic, Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz, and Diana Shnaider and Casper Ruud are among the six teams to earn direct entry, while defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori are among eight main-draw wild cards.
There is also a headline-making wild-card combination of Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz.
Two places in the 16-team championship field remain available through qualifying. Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev and Peyton Stearns and Christian Harrison have now received the two wild cards into the eight-team qualifying draw.
The competition takes place from August 24–26 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, before the US Open singles main draws begin on August 30.
The important distinction from the original entry list is now clear: the US Open main draw consists of six direct entrants, eight wild-card teams and two qualifiers.
All US Open 2026 Mixed Doubles Pairings
The USTA’s current entry list contains the following partnerships as of August 11.
US Open 2026 Mixed Doubles Pairings
The confirmed main-draw and qualifying teams for the championship in New York.
🎾 14 Main-Draw Teams Confirmed + 8 Qualifying TeamsMain Draw
Six direct entrants and eight wild cards are confirmed. Two qualifiers will complete the 16-team field.
Qualifying
Eight teams will compete for the final two places in the US Open Mixed Doubles main draw.
The two qualifying wild cards settle another major question surrounding the field. Andreeva and Rublev were part of the original entry list but must now earn their way into the 16-team championship.
What Changed From the Original US Open Mixed Doubles Entry List?
The initial list of 29 partnerships was exactly that: an entry list, rather than the final championship field.
The August 17 ranking cutoff determined the six direct acceptances. The USTA then completed most of the main draw through eight wild cards, while another eight teams were placed into qualifying.
That process produced several significant changes from the original list.
Perhaps the most notable involves Taylor Fritz. He originally appeared alongside Elena Rybakina, but his confirmed main-draw partnership is now with Jessica Pegula.
Pegula herself had initially entered with Jack Draper.
Andreeva and Rublev, meanwhile, have moved from the wider entry list into qualifying and will need to win their way into the championship field.
Several other original partnerships, including Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur, Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori, Venus Williams and Alexander Bublik, Anna Kalinskaya and Lorenzo Musetti, and Maria Sakkari and Karen Khachanov, are not part of the newly confirmed main-draw or qualifying lists.
Sabalenka and Djokovic Lead the Direct Entries
The combination of Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic remains one of the marquee partnerships in New York.
But the confirmed field now offers several other combinations with major singles pedigree.
Pegula joins Fritz in an all-American pairing, while Shnaider unites with Casper Ruud. Bencic and Cobolli and Anisimova and Tien complete the fully announced direct-entry partnerships, with Shnaider still waiting for confirmation of her teammate.
The wild-card field adds another layer.
Defending champions Errani and Vavassori return, while Eala/Auger-Aliassime, Fernandez/Tiafoe, Townsend/Zverev, Svitolina/Monfils, Muchova/Mensik and Navarro/Paul have all been handed championship places.
And then there is Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz, a partnership certain to become one of the focal points of the event.
Swiatek and Ruud Don’t Return After Reaching the 2025 Final
Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud will not be back together after reaching the championship match in 2025. Iga Swiatek will be replaced by Diana Shnaider after her Cincinnati run.
They were beaten by Italian doubles specialists Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, who prevailed after a match tiebreak to successfully defend the title they had originally won under the traditional format in 2024.
Errani and Vavassori therefore enter 2026 as two-time defending champions and once again provide an intriguing contrast to a field increasingly populated by high-profile singles players.
US Open Mixed Doubles Qualifying Is New for 2026
The biggest structural change in 2026 is the addition of a separate qualifying competition.
Eight teams will play on Monday, August 24, with two partnerships progressing into the 16-team championship draw.
Six teams received direct entry into qualifying: Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten, Gabriela Dabrowski and Harri Heliovaara, Luisa Stefani and Neal Skupski, Aleksandra Krunic and Mate Pavic, Kristina Mladenovic and Marcelo Arevalo, and Erin Routliffe and Lloyd Glasspool.
The USTA has now completed the field by awarding the two qualifying wild cards to Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev and Peyton Stearns and Christian Harrison.
Andreeva and Rublev are particularly notable because they appeared among the original mixed doubles entries but must now play their way into the championship field.
Qualifying begins at 11:00 AM at Grandstand and is free for spectators with a US Open Fan Access Pass.
That expansion means mixed doubles now occupies three consecutive days of Fan Week, rather than simply appearing as a compact two-day attraction.
US Open 2026 Mixed Doubles Schedule
Monday, August 24 – Qualifying
Eight teams compete for two main-draw places.
Grandstand from 11:00 AM.
Free with a Fan Access Pass.
Tuesday, August 25 – First Round and Quarterfinals
The 16-team main draw begins.
Louis Armstrong Stadium from 10:00 AM.
Arthur Ashe Stadium from 11:00 AM.
Wednesday, August 26 – Semifinals and Final
Arthur Ashe Stadium from 7:00 PM.
Read all about the conclusion of the mixed doubles in this Guardian article by Ella Brockway.
The Tuesday matches in Louis Armstrong Stadium can be watched free with a Fan Access Pass. Arthur Ashe Stadium requires a ticket, with the US Open advertising tickets from $30 for Tuesday and $45 for Wednesday.
How Does the US Open 2026 Mixed Doubles Format Work?
The competition uses a shortened format designed to produce faster matches.
From qualifying through the semifinals, matches are played as best-of-three sets with each set played to four games.
Scoring is no-ad, a tiebreak is played at 4-4 and a 10-point match tiebreak replaces a conventional third set.
The final is slightly more traditional. Sets are played to six games, although no-ad scoring remains and a 10-point match tiebreak is again used instead of a full deciding set.
The winning pair receives $1 million, giving the short competition one of the most eye-catching prizes in doubles tennis.
Why Is the US Open Promoting Mixed Doubles So Heavily?
The positioning of mixed doubles during Fan Week is anything but accidental.
Rather than playing the tournament alongside the later rounds of men’s and women’s singles, the USTA has moved mixed doubles into a period where it can operate as one of the headline attractions leading into the Grand Slam.
US Open Fan Week runs from August 23–29. The singles main draw does not begin until August 30.
That gives mixed doubles its own stage instead of forcing it to compete for attention with high-profile singles matches.
The promotional push is substantial. The US Open is offering free access to qualifying and selected Louis Armstrong Stadium matches, selling dedicated Arthur Ashe Stadium sessions, offering premium hospitality and luxury-suite packages, and placing the semifinals and final under the lights in Ashe.
The tournament has also produced individual promotional features around many of the teams involved, including Sabalenka/Djokovic, Shnaider/Ruud, Fernandez/Tiafoe, Eala/Auger-Aliassime, Townsend/Zverev, Svitolina/Monfils, Muchova/Mensik and Navarro/Paul. Its official website gives the mixed doubles championship a prominent standalone section alongside its major Fan Week attractions.
There is commercial backing as well. Vital Proteins returns as presenting sponsor, with on-site product sampling, interactive fan experiences and other activations planned around the championship.
And the event is not being treated merely as an on-site attraction: ESPN will carry the competition, with the USTA highlighting expanded global distribution and primetime television placement as part of the 2026 promotion.
The 2025 Experiment Gave the US Open Every Reason to Go Bigger
The heavy promotion follows extraordinary numbers for the redesigned 2025 event.
Arthur Ashe Stadium sold out on both days of the 2025 Mixed Doubles Championship, while more than 20,000 spectators used Fan Access Passes to watch free in Louis Armstrong Stadium. Internationally, the event was carried across 17 networks in more than 170 countries and territories, with 13 hours of ESPN coverage in the United States.
Mixed doubles also helped US Open Fan Week reach a record 239,307 spectators in 2025. The USTA specifically credited unprecedented interest in the redesigned competition as one of the drivers of that figure.
The concept subsequently won the Sports Breakthrough of the Year award at the 2026 Sports Business Journal Awards.
Seen in that context, expanding the tournament with qualifying in 2026 is a logical next move.
Mixed Doubles Has Become a Fan Week Centrepiece
There is a clear strategy behind the schedule.
The US Open effectively uses the week before singles competition as an opening festival. Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day starts proceedings on August 23, mixed doubles takes over from August 24–26, and other ticketed attractions include Roger Federer’s return to Arthur Ashe Stadium and Stars of the Open.
That transforms what was once largely a qualifying week into a much broader entertainment programme.
Mixed doubles is particularly valuable because it puts WTA and ATP stars on the same court in combinations fans normally never see. A partnership such as Sabalenka/Djokovic can attract supporters of both tours, while Svitolina/Monfils brings a personal storyline beyond ordinary tournament competition. The addition of Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz gives the event another pairing with obvious crossover appeal.
That is an inference from the USTA’s scheduling, promotional treatment and team-focused marketing, but the direction is difficult to miss: mixed doubles is being used as one of the main tools for turning Fan Week into a destination in its own right, rather than simply a warm-up before the US Open begins.
When Is the US Open 2026 Mixed Doubles Final?
The US Open mixed doubles semifinals and final are scheduled for Wednesday, August 26, beginning at 7:00 PM local time in New York at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The final comes four days before the men’s and women’s singles main draws begin on August 30.
About the US Open Mixed Doubles Championship
The mixed doubles competition remains an official Grand Slam championship, despite its unusual Fan Week scheduling and shortened scoring format.
Fourteen of the 16 places in the 2026 main draw are now confirmed. Six teams received direct entry and eight received main-draw wild cards, leaving only two places still to be decided.
Those final two teams will come through the new eight-team qualifying competition on Monday, August 24.
The qualifying field consists of six direct entrants plus wild-card teams Mirra Andreeva/Andrey Rublev and Peyton Stearns/Christian Harrison.
Once qualifying is complete, the full 16-team US Open 2026 Mixed Doubles Championship field will be set.