Serena Williams returning to US Open after 4 years: What to know
Serena Williams is set to return to the U.S. Open for the first time since 2022.
The 44-year-old will play mixed doubles this week with the No. 2 men's player in the world, Carlos Alcaraz, four years after she appeared to wrap up her professional tennis career.
Williams and Alcaraz were granted a wild card into the tournament Saturday.
Williams stepped away from tennis after the U.S. Open in 2022, following a long and storied career that included 14 Grand Slam doubles titles with her older sister, Venus Williams, and 23 Grand Slam singles titles. However, the tennis legend never formally announced her retirement from the sport.
Williams returned to pro tennis in June, playing doubles with Victoria Mboko at the HSBC Championships in London.
Ahead of that matchup, Williams told reporters at a news conference, "I don't need to win. I've won more than most people have in their whole lives. … It's important that I keep reminding myself of that because I don't have anything to prove, I don't have anything to lose. And everything here is just to gain."
Williams has competed in four events so far this year and recently played doubles with her sister at the Cincinnati Open on Aug. 17.
It remains to be seen whether the Williams sisters will pair up at the U.S. Open again. The tournament's women's doubles draw will be announced Sept. 1.
Fans can watch the U.S. Open's first and second round qualifying mixed doubles matches starting Tuesday, Aug. 25, on ESPN2 10 a.m. ET.
Sixteen teams will face off in the two-day competition, culminating in a final matchup on Wednesday, Aug. 26, at 9 p.m. ET.
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