The Alcaraz Williams US Open mixed doubles pairing turned heads at Flushing Meadows this week, and not only because it brought together two of tennis’s most watchable figures for the first time on the same side of the net. Carlos Alcaraz, returning to competitive play after a right wrist injury that had sidelined him since April, partnered Serena Williams for the mixed doubles draw, and the pair made short work of their first-round opponents.
A Return from the Sidelines for Both Players
Alcaraz’s absence had been longer and more disruptive than many casual followers may have registered. According to ESPN, the right wrist injury he sustained in April caused him to miss both the French Open and Wimbledon, two of the four Grand Slams, leaving a conspicuous gap in the draw at two of the sport’s most prestigious events. The US Open mixed doubles offered his first taste of competitive match play since that injury, a low-stakes but genuinely competitive way back onto the hardcourt.
Williams’s return carried its own weight. NBC Sports reported that she was getting back on court at the US Open after a four-year absence. Her own words, reported by ESPN, captured the moment plainly: ‘I never expected to be back on this court. I never thought this would happen.’ For anyone who has followed her career across Flushing Meadows, that quote lands with some force.
On the court, the partnership worked. The two defeated Erin Routliffe and Lloyd Glasspool 5-3, 4-1 in the first round, a clean and efficient result. By press time they had moved into the second round, where Belinda Bencic and Fabio Cobolli awaited.
Alcaraz Williams US Open Kit: Basketball Court Meets Hardcourt
The match itself gave Alcaraz’s kit its first proper airing, and it was worth talking about. He arrived in a Nike ensemble that leaned harder into basketball-uniform territory than anything he has worn before: striped trim, mesh body, notched hem on the shorts. The colour palette sat firmly in purple and orange. The whole thing had more in common with a hoops strip than a conventional tennis outfit, and it worked, partly because Alcaraz moves on court with enough athleticism to sell it.
The hair drew equal attention. Long and loose, held back by a slim polka-dot Nike hairband, it gave him something between a boy-band aesthetic and a mid-match practicality solution. His curlier texture suits the look; the hairband sits properly rather than forcing the hair outward. It completed an outfit that felt considered rather than accidental.
Alcaraz has a record of bold choices up top. A buzzcut appeared at a previous US Open, followed by a bleached-blonde phase, then cornrows that raised a few eyebrows. The current iteration is arguably the most coherent he has landed on yet, and the hairband is doing real work keeping it all in order during slide stops and net charges on the hardcourt.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion’s penchant for sleeveless shirts on court is well established, but the basketball-inflected cut he debuted here pushed into new territory for him specifically. The combination of the shaggy hair and the vivid kit made the Alcaraz Williams US Open mixed doubles outing as much a visual occasion as a sporting one. Whether he carries similar variations into the main draw, which begins on Sunday, will be one of the minor but genuinely entertaining subplots of the fortnight ahead.
