5 players you never knew played mixed doubles with Serena Williams ft. Lleyton Hewitt, John Isner

Former World No. 1 Serena Williams is arguably one of the greatest to have played a game of tennis. She has won 73 singles titles in her career which includes 23 Grand Slam titles. In doubles, she has won 23 tour-level titles, 14 of which were won in doubles, partnering her elder sister, Venus Williams.

Serena also won two mixed doubles titles in the 1998 season at Wimbledon and the US Open Championships. She won both these titles partnering Max Mirnyi. In 2019, Serena Williams partnered with Francis Tiafoe at the Hopman Cup. The duo lost all three matches that they played at the event.

In the same season at Wimbledon, Williams made a return to the mixed doubles draw of a Slam after seven years. She partnered with Andy Murray, along with whom she made the third round, eventually losing to top seeds Bruno Soares & Nicole Melichar.

Over the course of her illustrious career, the 40-year-old has played 34 mixed doubles matches, winning 26. She won 14 of those matches in the 1998 season alone.

Let's take a look at the five players she partnered with that not many know about.

#5 Lleyton Hewitt

Lleyton Hewitt

In 1998, Lleyton Hewitt turned professional and became one of the youngest players to win a tour-level title when he won the Adelaide International. A few weeks later, he received a wildcard in the mixed doubles draw at the Australian Open and partnered with Serena Williams.

It was the first tour-level mixed doubles match for both Williams and Hewitt. The duo lost their first-round match against eventual quarterfinalists Natasha Zvereva and Andrew Florent 7-6(3) 6-2.

#4 Mardy Fish

ATP Masters Series

Former top-10 player Mardy Fish was also a top-15 doubles player in 2000s. He has won six singles and eight doubles titles in his career. By 2008, Serena Williams had won every Slam in both singles and doubles.

While she didn't play any mixed doubles events at Grand Slams, Williams partnered with Mardy Fish at the 2008 Hopman Cup.

The duo defeated the Czech pairing of Tomas Berdych and Lucie Safarova, Australian duo Alicia Molik and Peter Luczak, and Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Jelena Jankovic in the finals to win the title.

#3 Bob Bryan

By 2012, Serena Williams had won 12 doubles titles, all partnering with her sister Venus Williams. After the 1999 Australian Open, Williams did not play in the mixed doubles draw of a Major. She made a return to the format at the 2012 French Open. She partnered with Bob Bryan, who had won 11 men's doubles titles at that stage.

In their first-round match, they were drawn against the Argentine pairing of Gisela Dulko and Eduardo Schwank, who had reached the finals of the US Open mixed doubles in 2011. The Argentines won 7-5 3-6 [10-6] against the Americans.

#2 John Isner

In 2014, it was announced that Jack Sock would partner Williams at the 2015 Hopman Cup. However, Sock suffered an injury, due to which John Isner was roped in as Serena Williams' partner. John Isner has never played a tour level mixed doubles match till date. He has however played in five editions of the Hopman Cup, leading the USA to victory in 2011 where he partnered Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

In the 2015 Hopman Cup, Williams and Isner won against the Italian team of Fabio Fognini and Flavia Pennetta, the Canadian side of Eugenie Bouchard and Vasek Pospisil, and the Czech team of Lucie Safarova and Adam Pavlasek to reach the finals. In the final, they lost to Polish duo Agnieszka Radwanska and Jerzy Janowicz.

#1 Luis Lobo

Following her first-round exit from her maiden mixed doubles draw at the 1998 Australian Open, Serena Williams partnered Luis Lobo for the 1998 French Open. Lobo was a doubles specialist who rose to prominence when he won the gold medal at the men's doubles event at the 1995 Pan American Games. He had a 3-2 win-loss record in mixed doubles before the 1998 Roland Garros and played only two tour-level singles matches.

The Argentine had a surprise run with Williams as they dropped only one set to reach the finals. In the second round, they defeated top seeds Leander Paes and Larisa Neiland.

In the final, Serena Williams faced her elder sister at the other side of the net, who was partnering with Justin Gimelstob. Venus and Gimelstob won the title, defeating Serena and Lobo 6-4 6-4 in the finals.