Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik win US Open mixed doubles title
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Czech Republic’s Jakub Mensik and Karolina Muchova pose with the trophy after winning their US Open mixed-doubles final match.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik won the US Open mixed doubles title, defeating Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 1-6, 10-6 for their first Grand Slam trophy as a team.
- They saved two match points in the semi-final and controlled the final tie-break with strong serving and net play to secure victory.
- The mixed doubles event features top singles players and aims to attract larger crowds, with stars like Djokovic, Sabalenka, Alcaraz, and Serena Williams participating.
AI generated
NEW YORK – Czech pair Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik beat Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic and Italian Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 1-6, 10-6 on Aug 26 to win the US Open mixed doubles title, securing their first Grand Slam trophy as a team.
Muchova and Mensik got off to a fast start at Arthur Ashe Stadium, with the hard-serving Mensik hammering an ace past Bencic on set point to claim the opener in less than 30 minutes.
Bencic drilled a return winner to break serve for a 3-1 lead in the second, and the Swiss player later levelled the match when her forehand clipped the net cord and skipped beyond Muchova.
In the deciding match 10-point tiebreak, Mensik’s big serve and sharp work at the net helped the Czechs seize control.
The 20-year-old put away a firm volley to open an 8-4 lead before Muchova produced her best serve of the match to bring up championship points.
Mensik sealed the victory with another ace, leaping in celebration after clinching the first trophy of the season’s final Grand Slam.
Muchova and Mensik had earlier saved two match points against Russians Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev in their semi-final to book their place in the title match.
“I think in the end the matching outfits made the difference for us,” Muchova said to laughter as the pair sported matching maroon adidas jackets during the trophy ceremony.
“I wasn’t really expecting to be standing here tonight. We came out just to have fun and enjoy these mixed doubles and now we are standing here. So we did something right.”
“I think this is a really good start to the US Open for all of us,” she added after congratulating Bencic and Cobolli.
The 16-team mixed-doubles draw began on Aug 25 in the second year of the tournament’s revamped format, which features leading singles players and is aimed at drawing bigger crowds in the week before the singles main draw. Among the star-studded teams, Novak Djokovic joined forces with Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz played alongside Serena Williams.
Also at the US Open, Swiss Stan Wawrinka has been handed a wildcard entry to the men’s singles draw, organisers said on Aug 26, after several days of outcry from fans over his exclusion.
The 2016 champion was left off the initial list of wildcard entries in his farewell season, reigniting fierce debate over which players get the nod – and which are left out – in the wildcard process at the Grand Slams.
Wawrinka had posted an emotional farewell to the tournament on social media on Aug 26, seemingly closing the door on any hope of his competing in 2026’s final Slam after participating in the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon in 2026 on wild cards.
But in a later statement, he said: “I’m incredibly excited to accept the wild card for the 2026 US Open and look forward to competing in front of the fans in New York once again.”
The 41-year-old former world No. 3 won at Roland Garros in 2015 and the Australian Open in 2014. REUTERS
