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 at 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 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.

The 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.

This year, the Italians went out in the first round. That said, the singles A-listers were gone after the quarterfinals this time round.

The sentimental favorites, the husband-and-wife duo of Elina Svitolina and Gaël Monfils, fell in the semifinals Wednesday evening, losing a match-deciding tiebreak to Cobolli and Bencic, who came back from a set down.

Muchová and Menšík saved 2 match points in their own semifinal-deciding tiebreak to topple Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev, whose vigor and vibes won the crowd but not the match.

Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli could not complete a comeback from a set down. (Caleb Bowlin / Getty Images)

Menšík, the 20-year-old serving machine, used his size and wingspan to take over the court down the stretch. He and Muchová, the 30-year-old who reached the Wimbledon final last month, did the same early against Bencic and Cobolli.

But just as he did in the semifinal against Monfils and Svitolina, Cobolli sloughed off some early errors and came alive, roping forehands across the court like the player who plowed into the French Open singles final in June.

As Cobolli lifted his game, Bencic lifted hers. She ripped a forehand return on a deciding point to get her team back into the match. They reeled off the next three games, and all of a sudden the evening had its third match-deciding tiebreak in as many matches.

Just like last year, the two semis and the final lasted five hours. Most of the packed crowd that had created so much of the buzz early in the evening had decided more than an hour before they had seen enough.

There seems to be a flaw in a schedule that has the fewest people watching the most important match. When it’s done, there are another 10 minutes spent on setting up a stage in the middle of the court to prepare for an awards ceremony. By then, all but a few hundred of the fans were gone or heading for the exits.

Don’t tell that to Muchová and Menšík, though. This setup suited them just as well as their singles games suit doubles, Menšík with his ripped serve and Muchová with her control at the net. With a blasted ace from Menšík on championship point, the trophy was just a short wait away after a long night.

This reimagined version of mixed doubles will never be to the liking of those who struggle with the concept that a Grand Slam title can be decided in under 48 hours.

But there is no question it now commands more attention from a global audience.

Instead of the mixed doubles primarily being an event for grounds pass holders, the semi-finals and final were played under the lights in the night session, ensuring a much bigger television audience.

Even with the introduction of a qualifying competition this year, specialist doubles players still have limited opportunities in an event now built around the singles stars.

But those who do make it into the draw are competing for a prize that is five times what is was under the old format.

And the prize pot for the men’s and women’s doubles – still very much the preserve of the specialists – has also jumped significantly to match what is on offer in the mixed doubles.

Singles players enjoy the format and the chance for an early feel of the show courts, but the tournament will never be a priority for them.

Iga Swiatek, Frances Tiafoe and Daniil Medvedev all pulled out shortly beforehand – the first two as they needed rest after a successful spell on tour, and the latter as he felt he needed more matches before the US Open.

But if the United States Tennis Association can attract pairs of the calibre of Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz, as well as Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic, they will consider it a success.

The mixed doubles is just one part of an ever-expanding ‘Fan Week’ at the US Open.

Roger Federer featured in an exhibition with Andre Agassi, John McEnroe and Andy Roddick on Tuesday, with Amanda Anisimova and Alexandra Eala among the cast for the ‘Stars of the Open’ on Thursday evening.

And all this after The Lumineers officially kicked off the US Open with a gig inside the Louis Armstrong Stadium last Friday night.

That is a full nine days before the main draw actually gets under way.