NEW YORK — The 2026 U.S. Open has its first champions.Karolína Muchová and Jakub Menšík, the maroon-clad Czech team that got a last-minute wild card entry into the mixed doubles competition, walked away with the title late Wednesday night on Arthur Ashe Stadium.The Czechs overpowered Belinda Bencic of Switzerland and Flavio Cobolli in a match tiebreak to win the $1 million first prize as the clock ticked toward midnight — when most of the capacity crowd of 24,000 had gone home. With a 6-3, 1-6, 10-6 win, the Czechs took home their maiden Grand Slam titles, the status the U.S. Open’s reimagined mixed doubles retains despite its divergence from just about every norm of tennis from start to finish.“Our outfits made a difference tonight,” Muchová said when it was over.For a second consecutive year, the new event delivered a mix of successes and shortcomings.The crowds that flooded the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center the past two days lapped it up, especially on Day 1. So many of the biggest stars in the sport were in the field then, led by Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka.They were joined by some of the best doubles players in the world, setting up the compelling matchups that fans wanted to see.How do fans feel about Serena Williams' comebackLauren Morales-Jones and Johnny SweetThe USTA even got its overriding wish for the event this year. All four teams that made the semifinals Wednesday featured top singles players, after Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, the Italian doubles stars who won the title in its original form in 2024, last year took down singles pair after singles pair to retain their title.