Serena Williams Plays Tennis Again at the US Open
She played with Carlos Alcaraz. 15,000 people watched.
Serena Williams is a famous tennis player. She is 44 years old.
On Tuesday, she played at the US Open in New York. It was her first time there in four years.
She played mixed doubles with Carlos Alcaraz from Spain. He is 23 and he has won seven big tournaments.
About 15,000 people watched them. The crowd was very happy.
Williams and Alcaraz won their first match. But they lost their second match, so they are out of the tournament.
Alcaraz said: "I'm playing next to the one and only Serena Williams."
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Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz Delight US Open Crowd
The star pair won one match and lost one in the mixed doubles.
Serena Williams returned to the US Open in New York on Tuesday for the first time since 2022. She played mixed doubles with Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in front of about 15,000 people in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Williams, who is 44, has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles. Alcaraz has won seven. It was his first competitive match since April because of a wrist injury.
The pair won their first match 5-3 4-1 against Lloyd Glasspool of Great Britain and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand. But they lost in the quarter-finals to Flavio Cobolli of Italy and Belinda Bencic of Switzerland.
Alcaraz said he was very nervous at the start. "I'm playing next to the one and only Serena Williams, so what else can I do? Just enjoy and try to do the things she told me to do," he said.
The US Open has a new format for mixed doubles this year, with many top singles players taking part. Some people have criticised it, because it gives less space to doubles specialists. But the crowd in New York loved it.
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Williams and Alcaraz Thrill US Open Crowd in Brief Mixed Doubles Return
Serena Williams's first appearance in New York for four years ended in the quarter-finals, but the 15,000-strong crowd did not seem to mind.
Serena Williams made her return to the US Open on Tuesday, four years after she stepped away from tennis, partnering Carlos Alcaraz in the tournament's revamped mixed doubles competition in front of a crowd of around 15,000 in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The 44-year-old American, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, and seven-time major winner Alcaraz won their opening match 5-3 4-1 against Britain's Lloyd Glasspool and New Zealand's Erin Routliffe, winning eight of the final nine games. They were then knocked out in the quarter-finals by Italy's Flavio Cobolli and Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, who won 5-4 (7-4) 4-1.
For Alcaraz, it was his first competitive match since April, when he injured his wrist. He admitted he was nervous — he double-faulted on the very first point — but said Williams made it easy for him to enjoy the occasion. "I'm playing next to the one and only Serena Williams, so what else can I do? Just enjoy and try to do the things she told me to do," he said.
Williams won the US Open mixed doubles title in its original format in 1998, five years before Alcaraz was born. She will not play in the singles, having not competed in that format since injuring her knee at Wimbledon.
The new mixed doubles format, which favours the sport's biggest singles stars, has been criticised for pushing out established doubles players. All four pairs of doubles specialists lost to teams of singles players on Tuesday. But the atmosphere in New York suggested the tournament's gamble on star power had paid off with the fans.
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