Serena Williams volition squad up with Carlos Alcaraz for the US Open mixed doubles this coming week.
The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion made her instrumentality to tennis successful June, 4 years aft "evolving away" from the sport.
She has played 3 doubles matches since her instrumentality and made her singles comeback astatine Wimbledon, losing successful 3 sets to Maya Joint.
The American large lost successful the doubles with elder sister Venus astatine the Cincinnati Open connected Monday successful her archetypal lucifer since injuring her genu astatine Wimbledon.
The pair, who person a combined 44 singles and doubles Grand Slams, person been fixed a wildcard into the main gully of the competition.
The apical six pairs with the champion combined singles rankings person received nonstop introduction into the main draw, with different 8 receiving wildcards.
Defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori are the lone doubles specializer pairing to person a main-draw wildcard.
The different pairings - including Britain's fig 1 Henry Patten alongside top-ranked women's subordinate Katerina Siniakova - volition person to travel done an eight-team qualifying round.
The contention takes spot from 24-26 August, finishing 4 days earlier the singles gully begins.
Other high-profile pairings see satellite fig 1 Aryna Sabalenka with 24-time large champion Novak Djokovic, Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz and six-time large champion Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud.
Ukraine's Elina Svitolina has paired up with hubby Gael Monfils successful the Frenchman's last Grand Slam earlier retirement.
The tourney was revamped past twelvemonth to see much pairings involving singles players - thing that was criticised by a fig of doubles specialists.
A shorter scoring strategy was introduced, with lone 4 games required to triumph a acceptable successful matches earlier the final, nary 'advantage' scoring and 10-point lucifer tie-breaks alternatively of a 3rd acceptable throughout.
The tourney was besides tweaked to spot implicit 2 days successful the week earlier the main gully began.
Italians Errani and Vavassori - the lone doubles specializer pairing invited to vie past twelvemonth - past twelvemonth issued a associated connection criticising the "profoundly wrong" move.
However, the brace ended up walking distant with the rubric - and $1m (£740,000) successful prize wealth - and said afterwards they had "completed their mission".
More to follow.
English (US)·