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Sports · US Open 2026 · Mixed Doubles · Semi-finals
Bencic/
Cobollivs
Svitolina/
Monfils
Wednesday, August 26, 2026 · Semi-finals
Watch: ESPN2 · ESPN+
My pick: Bencic / Cobolli to advance · locked 2026-08-26 17:20 UTCPrediction
Bencic and Cobolli, and the margin is about how each pair got here rather than who they are. The No. 4 seeds are the last seeded team standing and they have been the most economical side in the draw — one set dropped across two matches, and the quarter-final against Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz closed 5-4(4) 4-1 without ever looking like slipping. Svitolina and Monfils have been the better story and the harder-working team: they beat the mixed doubles world No. 1 pair, Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten, but needed a 10-8 match tiebreak to do it, having lost the second set on a tiebreak of its own. In a format this short that distinction matters more than it would over three full sets. Sets to four with no-advantage scoring mean a single loose service game decides one, and the pair that keeps holding cleanly usually wins; Cobolli's serve is the most reliable one on court and Bencic is the most accomplished returner. Monfils on Ashe at night with a crowd behind him is exactly the variable that makes short-format tennis unpredictable, and if this goes to a match tiebreak I would not want money on either side. But over two sets I make the seeds the sounder bet.
The case for Bencic / Cobolli
58.5% to winThe only seeded pair left, and the cleanest through the draw — 4-2 4-2 past Taylor Townsend and Alexander Zverev, then 5-4(4) 4-1 to end the Williams-Alcaraz run, one set dropped in total. Cobolli's serve is the most dependable delivery in this semi-final, which in no-advantage sets to four is worth more than any other single shot, and Bencic is the most decorated returner on the court. They have spent the least time in trouble and none at all in a match tiebreak.
The case for Svitolina / Monfils
41.5% to winThey have already beaten the best specialist pair in the event — Siniakova is a seven-time major doubles champion and Patten is the world No. 1 in men's doubles, and Svitolina and Monfils took them out 10-8 in the decider. They are married, they are wild cards, they are playing the loosest tennis of anyone left, and Monfils at 39 in a night session on Arthur Ashe is a genuine tactical problem: his court coverage turns finished points into rallies, and short sets punish a team that has to hit three winners instead of one.
Both cases written 2026-08-26, before the first ball — frozen into the record exactly as written, whatever the result. The percentages are mine, quoted to a decimal because false precision is funnier — and tennis has no draw to hide the rounding in.
The briefing
Storylines
- Svitolina and Monfils are married, and are the first spouse pairing to reach the last four of the revamped mixed doubles championship.
- Bencic and Cobolli are the only seeded pair left in the draw: the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 seeds all lost in the first round on Tuesday.
- Svitolina and Monfils reached the semi-finals by beating the mixed doubles world No. 1 pair, Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten, 10-8 in the deciding tiebreak.
- Bencic and Cobolli ended the tournament's most-watched experiment in the quarter-finals, beating Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz 5-4(4) 4-1.
Head to head
These two pairs have never met. Both partnerships were assembled for this event, and the revamped championship is only in its second edition — neither pair appears in the 2025 draw, so there is no head-to-head to read.
Source: US Open mixed doubles draws, 2025 and 2026 · as of 2026-08-26.
Watch: Both semi-finals are on ESPN2 from 7 p.m. ET; the final moves to ESPN at 9 p.m. ET. Every court streams in the ESPN app. (USA TODAY / ESPN listings, as of 2026-08-26)
Court & schedule: Arthur Ashe Stadium, first on in the Wednesday night session, which starts at 7 p.m. ET. The second semi-final follows it and the final follows that — the whole championship finishes in one session. (US Open official order of play, day 4, as of 2026-08-26)
Weather: Showers and thunderstorms are possible across New York on Wednesday afternoon and into the evening, with a high near 80°F. Arthur Ashe has a retractable roof, so the night session plays whatever the sky does — the roof is the reason this schedule can promise a champion tonight. (National Weather Service New York forecast, as of 2026-08-26)
Venue: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows, New York — hard.
At this Stage
Where both players stand in the draw — the match each came through, and what winning this one is worth.
Quarter-finals
Final