Southern California’s footprint at the 2026 US Open extends far beyond the singles main draw. As doubles play gets underway in Flushing Meadows, a formidable roster of players with deep SoCal roots takes the court: a mix of Grand Slam champions, battle-tested pros, college standouts, and rising phenoms.

Leading the narrative are two captivating sibling partnerships separated by generations of tennis history.

Making their Grand Slam team debut, San Diego’s Brandon Nakashima and his younger brother, Bryce, received a wild card into the men’s doubles draw. The brothers first teamed up on the ATP Tour in July 2024, when Bryce made his tour debut alongside Brandon at the Atlanta Open. This summer, Bryce added another milestone to his young career, winning his first professional singles title at the SoCal Pro Series at Barnes Tennis Center and carrying that momentum into his first Grand Slam appearance. Now, more than two years after their first ATP Tour appearance together, the brothers will reunite on an even bigger stage in New York.

Brandon arrived in “The City That Never Sleeps” at a career-high No. 17 in the ATP rankings following a stellar summer and also advanced to the second round of the US Open singles draw before falling to fellow Southern Californian Alex Michelsen of Aliso Viejo. For Bryce, the doubles draw marks his first appearance on a Grand Slam stage and the beginning of a new chapter in his young career. Regardless of the result, the opportunity gives the Nakashima family a chance to watch two brothers compete together at one of the biggest tournaments in the sport.

Meanwhile, Compton legends Serena and Venus Williams reunite in New York for the first time since 2022, bringing another chapter to the sisters’ historic US Open doubles legacy. The 14-time Grand Slam doubles champions, who captured US Open titles together in 1999 and 2009, received a wild card and will open against No. 14 seeds Hao-Ching Chan and Maya Joint. 

Venus’ return to the US Open came to an end Monday night, when she fell to Sofia Kenin, 6-2, 7-6(6), , in a match that began after midnight and finished past 2 a.m., making it the latest starting match in tournament history. The 46-year-old acknowledged that playing at 1 or 2 a.m. EST made finding her rhythm difficult, but she continued to push herself throughout the match and felt she had plenty of strong moments.

Despite the unusual circumstances, Williams said she was grateful for the fans who stayed late into the night to watch her compete on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“It was a real honor to play in front of them,” Venus said. “Of course, I definitely will be focused on [doubles] and super excited about it.”

Now, Venus shifts her focus to doubles, where she will reunite with her younger sister for the first time since Serena’s farewell. The sisters’ return comes after Serena was also part of the expanded mixed doubles event during Fan Week, partnering with Carlos Alcaraz.

A Historic Fan Week Puts Doubles in the Spotlight

The Williams sisters’ return arrives on the heels of an unprecedented spotlight on doubles. During Fan Week, the second edition of the reimagined US Open Mixed Doubles Championship helped drive a record audience, with more than 300,000 fans attending in person, 6.3 million digital visits and 42.3 million page views, while social media interactions soared 276% year over year to 711 million. Television coverage peaked at 502,000 viewers for the quarterfinal featuring Serena and Alcaraz against Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli. Serena and Alcaraz fell 5-4(4), 4-1, with Bencic and Cobolli advancing to the final, where Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik captured the title, 6-3, 1-6, [10-6].

Now, that momentum transitions to the traditional men’s and women’s doubles draws, with Southern California well represented throughout the field.

Women’s Draw: Champions, Comebacks, and Fresh Faces

Luisa Stefani of Brazil leads a strong group of Southern California-connected college players into the women’s doubles draw, heading into New York as the No. 2 seed alongside Gabriela Dabrowski. A former Pepperdine Wave, Stefani competed for the team from 2015 to 2018, earning three-time All-American honors before turning professional.

Now one of the world’s premier doubles players, Stefani will open her title defense alongside Dabrowski against Anastasia Detiuc and Irina Khromacheva. The duo returns as the reigning US Open women’s doubles champions, giving Stefani a chance to become a repeat champion on the sport’s biggest stage.

Rancho Mirage’s Desirae Krawczyk enters as the No. 13 seed alongside Australia’s Storm Hunter. A four-time Grand Slam mixed doubles champion, Krawczyk has already tasted success in Flushing Meadows, capturing the 2021 US Open mixed doubles title with Joe Salisbury.

A women’s doubles Grand Slam title is the one major piece missing from Krawczyk’s impressive resume. With another US Open campaign ahead, could this finally be the year she adds it to the collection?

Returning to Grand Slam play following an injury layoff, Rancho Palos Verdes native and UCLA product Ena Shibahara brings an impressive doubles resume back to Flushing Meadows. A former World No. 4 in doubles and 11 time WTA doubles champion, Shibahara will partner with Lanlana Tararudee against Kimberly Birrell and Peyton Stearns in the opening round.

Shibahara has also made her mark in singles at the past two US Opens. She made her Grand Slam singles debut in 2024 after qualifying, earning her first major singles win over Daria Saville before falling to then World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the second round. She returned to the singles main draw in 2025 after qualifying again, this time falling to 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu in the opening round.

Now healthy and back in New York, Shibahara returns her focus to doubles, where she will look to make another deep run alongside Tararudee.

An all SoCal pairing features Thousand Oaks native Claire Liu and 17 year old Carlsbad standout Julieta Pareja, who received a wild card into the doubles draw and will face Xinyu Wang and Yue Yuan in the opening round.

The opportunity builds on momentum for Pareja, who reached the third round of singles qualifying last week. Liu brings considerably more experience to the partnership, including the best Grand Slam singles result of her career earlier this summer when she reached the third round at Wimbledon before turning her attention to doubles.

The college pipeline remains strong across the rest of the draw.

Giuliana Olmos, who represents Mexico, will team with Ingrid Neel of Estonia. The USC alumna has already enjoyed memorable moments at the US Open, including a quarterfinal run in mixed doubles in 2021 alongside Marcelo Arevalo. The pair made their way into the final eight after knocking out the top-seeded team. Olmos will now look to make another run in New York, this time alongside Neel.

The Pepperdine connections continue with Janice Tjen, who will partner with Leylah Fernandez—who played with Venus at last year’s event.

Tjen has already experienced the intensity of the singles spotlight this week, facing No. 5 seed and reigning Roland Garros champion Mirra Andreeva in the first round. Andreeva prevailed 6-2, 6-2, but Tjen’s appearance marked another important step in the young Pepperdine alumna’s rise on the sport’s biggest stages. Now, with the singles competition behind her, Tjen can turn her focus to doubles and a new opportunity alongside Fernandez.

Rounding out the Pepperdine contingent is Mayar Sherif, who will team with Alexa Guarachi. The pair faces a formidable opening test against No. 9 seeds Erin Routliffe and Aldila Sutjiadi. Sherif also competed in the singles main draw. She will now shift her focus to doubles, where she and Guarachi will look to make their mark in a loaded field.

Men’s Draw: Breakthrough Teams and Veteran Power

Beyond the Nakashima brothers’ opening-round matchup against No. 13 seeds Lucas Miedler and Marc Polmans, Southern California is heavily featured across the men’s field.

While the Nakashimas are creating a new family memory, Coronado’s Ryan Seggerman and San Diego’s Patrik Trhac return to the Big Apple with plenty of momentum of their own. The pair enjoyed a breakthrough summer season together, capped by their first ATP Tour title at the Mifel Tennis Open by Telcel in Los Cabos in August, the first ATP Tour title of Seggerman’s career.

The victory added another milestone to a partnership that has produced 10 ATP Challenger titles together, including six in 2024. After spending roughly a year and a half apart, Seggerman and Trhac reunited in Los Cabos and immediately found success. Now, the Southern California duo will look to carry that momentum into Flushing Meadows, where they open against Yuki Bhambri and Michael Venus.

UCLA is well represented in the men’s doubles draw, with three standout alumni bringing plenty of Grand Slam experience to the court.

Thousand Oaks native and 2014 NCAA singles champion Marcos Giron teams with Jenson Brooksby in an all-American matchup against Aleksandar Kovacevic and Mac Kiger. Mackenzie McDonald partners with Martin Damm against Diego Hidalgo and Alejandro Tabilo, while three-time Grand Slam doubles champion and former World No. 3 Jean-Julien Rojer joins Theodore Winegar to face Robert Galloway and Andre Goransson.

Whether chasing inaugural major victories or adding to legendary legacies, Team SoCal brings deep talent, compelling family ties, and championship heritage to Queens this fortnight.

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