Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik arrived at the US Open without a Grand Slam title between them. They left Arthur Ashe Stadium as champions. The all-Czech pair defeated Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 1-6, [10-6] on Wednesday night to win the 2026 US Open mixed doubles championship, securing the first Grand Slam trophy in any discipline for both players.
It was a title built on recovery, nerve and one final burst when the match tightened. Muchova and Mensik took control of the opening set 6-3 before Bencic and Cobolli hit back sharply in the second, winning it 6-1 and forcing the championship into a 10-point match tiebreak. That was where the Czech pair found another gear.
From 1-1 in the deciding breaker, Muchova and Mensik won three consecutive points and never surrendered the initiative. Mensik eventually closed the contest with an ace on their third championship point.
For two players better known for their singles careers, the result carried extra weight. Neither had previously won a Grand Slam trophy. Mensik had already enjoyed a strong summer after reaching his first major singles semifinal at Roland Garros in June. Muchova, meanwhile, came into New York only weeks removed from a Wimbledon singles final defeat.
This time, the ending went her way.
Muchova and Mensik had already survived a major scare earlier on Wednesday, saving two match points against Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev in the semifinals before winning the match tiebreak 11-9. That escape gave them another chance. Hours later, they converted it into a trophy.
Their final opponents also arrived with momentum. Bencic and Cobolli had beaten Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils in the semifinals, recovering from a first-set loss to win 4-5(7), 4-1, [10-5].
But the final belonged to the Czech pair. What began as a new mixed-doubles partnership ended with both players lifting the biggest doubles trophy of their careers inside one of tennis’ loudest arenas.
The significance was bigger than one result.
Muchova and Mensik had to survive pressure twice in the same day, first in a semifinal that nearly slipped away and then in a final that swung sharply after they lost the second set 6-1. Their response in the deciding tiebreak defined the title.
This was not an established doubles team grinding through a familiar script. It was two singles players finding enough chemistry, power and nerve over two days to escape match points, reset under pressure and seize a Grand Slam championship.
The US Open mixed doubles event delivered a new pairing.
New York sent them home as major champions.
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