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The USTA has unveiled the initial 16-team entry list for the 2026 US Open mixed doubles championship, headlined by world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. Defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori are expected to receive a wild card, with the main draw set for August 25–26.
New York, USA: At the 2026 Australian Open, Aryna Sabalenka stood courtside and said, only half-jokingly, that she was still waiting for a long message from Novak Djokovic telling her she was his dream partner. Months later, the message was apparently sent — and received. The USTA confirmed on Monday that the two biggest personalities in world tennis would share a court at Arthur Ashe Stadium as partners, headlining a mixed doubles field that reads like a who’s who of the modern game.
The confirmation delivers on one of the most teased storylines of the tennis calendar. Sabalenka, the two-time defending US Open women’s singles champion, returns to Flushing Meadows in August with a singles title to defend and now a mixed doubles partner to match her ambition. Djokovic, 39 and still ranked No. 5 in the world, carries six Grand Slam titles at Arthur Ashe Stadium into a partnership that has never been tested in competitive conditions — only a charity match at Rod Laver Arena two years ago.
The Field: Firepower From Top to Bottom
The Sabalenka-Djokovic pairing tops an entry list of 16 teams that represents the deepest pool of singles talent the revamped mixed doubles has attracted since the USTA overhauled the event last year with a prize purse of $1 million to the winners.
Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud — runners-up in the 2025 final — are back for another shot at the title that eluded them in their debut run. Elena Rybakina partners Taylor Fritz, a partnership that combines the world No. 2’s fearsome groundstrokes with one of the tour’s hardest hitters. Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper reunite after their 2025 campaign, while the Japanese sporting public gets a mouth-watering pairing in Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori — a marquee domestic draw that will generate significant interest in Asia.
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The list does not stop there. Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev represent Russia, Leylah Fernandez partners Frances Tiafoe, Belinda Bencic teams with Flavio Cobolli, and Diana Shnaider links with Daniil Medvedev. The Philippines’ Alex Eala is paired with Canadian star Félix Auger-Aliassime. Defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori — the only specialist doubles pairing to have won the event in its inaugural two editions — are expected to receive a wild card entry to defend their title. Doubles stalwart Kateřina Siniaková partners Henry Patten, adding another specialist dimension, while the sibling pairing of Peyton and Preston Stearns rounds out the initial list.
Notably absent from any confirmed pairing at this stage are Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the top two men in the world, as well as Serena and Venus Williams — all of whom are on the singles entry list.
How the Draw Works
Teams may continue to enter until August 17, at which point the six pairings with the best combined singles rankings will receive automatic entry into the main draw. With Sabalenka’s world No. 1 ranking and Djokovic at No. 5, their combined position makes their qualification a formality. Eight further teams will receive wild cards from the USTA, with two additional spots available through an eight-team qualifying tournament on August 24.
The main draw itself will be played over two days — August 25 and 26 — with all matches staged on Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium, the two largest venues at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, and televised on ESPN. The format uses best-of-three sets to four games, with tiebreakers at 4-all and a 10-point match tiebreak in lieu of a third set through to the semifinals — a structure designed to deliver fast, high-stakes tennis across both days.
“Tennis at Its Best”
The event has been widely credited with reinvigorating interest in doubles tennis at the Grand Slam level, and the USTA is keen to build on what it started. New chief executive Craig Tiley, formerly of Tennis Australia, was unambiguous in his enthusiasm. “Any time you can bring women and men together on the same team, you showcase tennis at its best,” Tiley said in a statement. “This is exactly what the mixed doubles championship does. It’s an innovation that will engage new audiences and give our fans another opportunity to see the biggest stars compete together.”
The 2026 edition marks the first time Sabalenka will contest the mixed doubles at Flushing Meadows, having sat out the inaugural edition in 2025. Her entry — alongside a player of Djokovic’s stature — signals the event’s growing pull. If both progress deep into the singles draw as well as the doubles, Arthur Ashe Stadium could host some of the most loaded days in recent memory.
Entry windows close August 17. The US Open begins August 30.
2026 US Open Mixed Doubles — Initial Entry List (16 Teams): Aryna Sabalenka & Novak Djokovic | Iga Swiatek & Casper Ruud | Elena Rybakina & Taylor Fritz | Jessica Pegula & Jack Draper | Naomi Osaka & Kei Nishikori | Mirra Andreeva & Andrey Rublev | Leylah Fernandez & Frances Tiafoe | Belinda Bencic & Flavio Cobolli | Diana Shnaider & Daniil Medvedev | Amanda Anisimova & Learner Tien | Alex Eala & Félix Auger-Aliassime | Taylor Townsend & Alexander Zverev | Elena-Gabriela Ruse & Nuno Borges | Sara Errani & Andrea Vavassori | Kateřina Siniaková & Henry Patten | Peyton Stearns & Preston Stearns
US Open begins: August 30, 2026 Mixed doubles main draw: August 25–26, 2026
