Novak Djokovic, Aryna Sabalenka Lose in 1st Round of Mixed Doubles Bracket at 2026 US Open

One of the top pairs in the US Open mixed doubles competition is already out of the tournament.

No. 1-seeded Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka lost in the first round on Tuesday against the mixed doubles world No. 1 pair of Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten, 1-4, 4-2, 10-2. Siniakova sent an ace past Djokovic for match point.

Djokovic and Sabalenka were originally slated to take on Frances Tiafoe and Leylah Fernandez. However, the lineup had to be shuffled after Tiafoe withdrew from the tournament on Monday due to injury, giving the No. 1 pair a tough test right out of the gate.

Early on, Djokovic and Sabalenka appeared to have the advantage as they cruised to a first-set victory, winning three straight points to close out the frame. After falling behind 2-1 in the second set, Patten and Siniakova stormed back to win the next three points and force a tiebreaker. The duo showed why they're No. 1 in the world with a dominant performance in the deciding set.

"It wasn't looking very good for a while," Patten said after the win, per The Athletic's Lukas Weese. "In this format, we played one game and the first set is gone. We played an amazing tiebreak. Kat acing Novak on match point was pretty fun."

Patten and Siniakova didn't have much time to rest before returning to action, as their second-round matchup against the married couple of Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils is already underway at Arthur Ashe Stadium.