The married couple defeated doubles world No. 1s Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten to become the first confirmed semifinalists in the tournament's mixed doubles draw.
Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and Gael Monfils of France, a married couple and longtime singles stars, advanced to the mixed doubles semifinals at the 2026 US Open on Tuesday, August 25, after defeating Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Henry Patten of Great Britain in a tightly contested quarterfinal in New York. The wild-card pair won 5-4 (6), 4-5 (3), [10-8] in a match that lasted approximately one hour and 34 minutes, according to the Associated Press and WTA coverage of the event. The victory made them the first team to qualify for the semifinal round of the mixed doubles competition at this year's tournament.
Siniakova and Patten entered the match as the top-ranked doubles pairing in the sport, with Siniakova holding the WTA's world No. 1 doubles ranking and Patten occupying the equivalent ATP position. Their defeat to Svitolina and Monfils marked a significant upset, given that neither Svitolina nor Monfils is primarily known as a doubles specialist. Both have built their careers as elite singles competitors, making their run through the mixed doubles draw notable on its own terms.
How the Quarterfinal Unfolded on Arthur Ashe Stadium
The match was played under the US Open's revamped mixed doubles format, which features short sets played to four games rather than six, with tiebreaks triggered at 4-4 in each set. Instead of a full third set, matches are decided by a 10-point match tiebreak. That format produced a dramatic finish between Svitolina and Monfils and their higher-ranked opponents.
Svitolina and Monfils took the first set 5-4, winning a tiebreak 6 points to whatever their opponents managed at that stage, before Siniakova and Patten leveled the match by taking the second set 5-4 with a tiebreak of their own. The match then went to the decisive 10-point tiebreak, where Svitolina and Monfils prevailed 10-8 to seal their place in the semifinals. Match records list Arthur Ashe Stadium as the venue for the contest, reflecting the high-profile placement organizers gave the matchup.
A Couple's Path Through the Draw
Svitolina and Monfils entered the 2026 mixed doubles event as wild cards, a status that made their subsequent run through the draw more striking. Before facing Siniakova and Patten, the pair dispatched Alexandra Eala and Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets, 4-1, 4-1, surrendering only two points in that match according to USA Today's live coverage of the tournament. That lopsided win signaled the chemistry the couple would carry into their quarterfinal upset.
The official US Open draw sheet lists Svitolina and Monfils as the No. 3 seeded pairing in the mixed doubles bracket. Following their quarterfinal win, the draw indicates they are set to face Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli, the No. 4 seeds, in the semifinal round. WTA coverage confirms the couple will play that semifinal match on Wednesday, one day after their win over Siniakova and Patten, with a place in the final on the line.
Elite Singles Players Reshape the Mixed Doubles Field
The Svitolina-Monfils run has unfolded against the backdrop of a broader storyline at the 2026 US Open, where several prominent singles stars entered the newly formatted mixed doubles event. Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka both competed in the draw but fell in their opening match to Siniakova and Patten, losing 1-4, 4-2, [10-2], according to reporting from enca.com. That result had positioned Siniakova and Patten as clear favorites heading into their quarterfinal against Svitolina and Monfils.
The upset of the doubles world No. 1s has opened the door to a semifinal lineup with limited traditional doubles pedigree. WTA reporting notes that Svitolina and Monfils are joined in the final four by Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik, with Mensik competing in mixed doubles for the first time in his career. That combination reflects how the tournament's shortened match format and wild-card entries have allowed singles-focused players to make deep runs traditionally reserved for doubles specialists.
What a Trophy Would Mean for the Couple
Both Svitolina and Monfils have enjoyed extensive success in singles competition at Grand Slam events, including deep runs at the US Open, but neither has won the tournament's singles title. The Associated Press framed their mixed doubles run in that context, noting that the couple has "both gone far but never all the way to the U.S. Open title," and suggesting the mixed doubles competition offers a chance for them to "finally win a trophy together."
Their semifinal against Bencic and Cobolli will determine whether Svitolina and Monfils advance to the mixed doubles final, where a title would represent the first Grand Slam trophy the couple has captured jointly. The match is scheduled for Wednesday, August 26, continuing a mixed doubles competition that has already produced multiple upsets involving some of tennis's biggest singles names.
