A lot has changed in men’s singles tennis since Carlos Alcaraz last competed.

The Spaniard, dethroned by Jannik Sinner from the top spot in April 2026, has now dropped to world number three. The man who replaced him at No. 2 — Alexander Zverev — has snapped a six-year losing streak at Grand Slam finals. Zverev’s fellow French Open finalist Flavio Cobolli, meanwhile, has risen from 14th to sixth.

Cobolli has narrowly missed a top-four seeding at the upcoming US Open, and Novak Djokovic is the beneficiary as he won’t have to face Alcaraz or Zverev before the semifinals at Flushing Meadows. With Sinner having withdrawn, the 39-year-old has a shot at avoiding the gruelling early-round five-setters that have repeatedly derailed his quest for a record 25th Major title.

Djokovic, Sinner and Alcaraz are all dealing with ‘body blows’ in different ways. The Serbian is battling wear and tear from 22 years on the circuit. The Italian numero uno is reeling from a right knee injury that has kept him away from Montreal, Cincinnati and now New York. Alcaraz is returning from a four-month layoff, caused by a condition clinically known as tenosynovitis. The fluid-filled protective layer (synovial membrane) around his wrist’s tendon was inflamed during the Barcelona Open, making joint motion hard and painful. For someone possessing one of the best forehands in the game, not being able to grip and swing the racket freely is possibly the worst nightmare and could take several match hours to overcome.

A fit-again Alcaraz is starting that journey with the US Open’s mixed doubles showpiece. He has partnered Serena Williams, who is on a remarkable comeback road herself. The 39-time Grand Slam winner — 23 of them singles — has returned four years after “evolving away from tennis” post the 2022 edition of the American Major.

Williams has played three doubles matches, the most recent one with elder sister Venus, since June. Her only singles appearance so far has been at Wimbledon, where she lost in straight sets to Maya Joint in the first round and sustained a knee injury on top of that. She will not be part of the singles line-up in Queens, as the last remaining wildcard was handed to 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.

The 44-year-old has fond memories at the US Open mixed doubles competition. Before claiming six singles titles at her home Slam, Williams had bagged a mixed doubles crown at the event back in 1998. She had teamed up with Max Mirnyi, who now coaches women’s singles No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Sabalenka is also part of the star-studded mixed doubles roster this year. She has paired with Djokovic, while Iga Swiatek has joined Casper Ruud, Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz make an all-American duo and Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina has partnered husband Gael Monfils. It will be Monfils’ last Major outing before he walks into the sunset. Pegula and Fritz joined forces after their previous partners, Jack Draper and Elena Rybakina, pulled out with injuries. Further, Diana Shnaider will have a chance to find a new partner after Daniil Medvedev withdrew.

Besides the six direct entrants picked on the basis of combined singles rankings, eight pairs have received wildcards, including defending champions and doubles specialists Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori. Two others will emerge from an eight-team qualifying round, which will be played on Monday.

Like in 2025, the two-day, 16-team contest is more of an exhibition event than the serious one it used to be. Matches comprise best-of-three sets up to four games, with a sudden-death deuce at 40-40 and a 10-points tiebreak instead of a third set. In the final, sets will be played to six games instead of four, with no-ad scoring and tie-breaks at six-all.

Playing mixed doubles before he starts his singles title defence might just help Alcaraz ease into his ever-attacking rhythm. The 23-year-old had circumspectly returned to training in July, and was snapped hitting balls fluently at a training session in Spain on August 4, reported. But Alcaraz decided to withdraw from the Cincinnati Open the next day, perhaps indicating the vulnerability that comes with an injury as potentially career-threatening as this.

The wrist is an integral part of Alcaraz’s gameplay anyway, with the tremendous spin he imparts on his forehand groundstrokes standing testimony.

Whether he can revert to his free-flowing self who was the only real challenger to Sinner’s dominance will only be known once the singles main draw gets underway on August 30. Until then, it’s time for the fun and games of mixed doubles alongside a bonafide legend.