Serena Williams and Andy Murray will play Andreas Mies of Germany and Alexa Guarachi of Chile in the first round of the mixed doubles at Wimbledon after the draw was made Wednesday.
The pair, who made a late decision to play together, are unseeded in the draw, and their first match is likely to be played Friday. Should they get past Mies -- who won the French Open men's doubles last month -- and Guarachi, they could play No. 1 seeds Bruno Soares of Brazil and American Nicole Melichar in the third round.
Venus Williams is also entered in the draw, partnering fellow American Frances Tiafoe, while 15-year-old Cori Gauff, who beat Venus in the first round of the singles, partners Britain's Jay Clarke.
Jamie Murray, who won the Wimbledon title in 2017 with Martina Hingis and was the runner-up with Victoria Azarenka 12 months ago, partners American Bethanie Mattek-Sands. The pair won their first mixed doubles Grand Slam title together at last year's US Open. Australia's Nick Kyrgios is also in the draw with American Desirae Krawczyk.
Williams and Murray, who boast 16 Wimbledon titles between them -- 14 for Williams and two for Murray -- confirmed their partnership late Tuesday evening, having waited to see how the 37-year-old American felt after her opening singles match.
Williams has won seven singles titles at Wimbledon, six women's doubles titles with sister Venus, and one mixed doubles title, with Max Mirnyi of Belarus in 1998.
Murray is back at Wimbledon this year after missing last year's Championships and just five months after he had resurfacing surgery to his right hip. The Scot, who will partner Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the men's doubles, made his comeback at London's Queen's Club last month, winning the men's doubles title with Feliciano Lopez of Spain.
Speaking before the partnership was confirmed, Murray said he would relish a partnership with the former world No. 1. "She's arguably the best player ever," he said. "It would be a pretty solid partner."
After her first-round singles win on Tuesday, Williams told reporters: "If you guys really want it, then maybe I'll do it," and went on to praise Murray's achievements on and off the court.
"We're a lot alike on the court," she said. "I've always liked that about him. His work ethic is just honestly off the charts. That's something I've always respected about him. His fitness, everything. To do what he's done in an era where there's so many other great male tennis players, so much competition, to rise above it, not many people have done it.
"There's so many things to be admired. Above all, he really stands out, he really speaks up about women's issues no matter what. You can tell he has a really strong woman in his life. I think above all, that is just fantastic."
Judy Murray, the mother of Andy and Jamie, said the partnership would be exciting. "It's tremendous," she told the Wimbledon Channel radio on Wednesday. "I would never have imagined that would ever happen here. What a wonderful opportunity; it'll be great fun."
Murray won the silver medal at the London Olympics in 2012 with fellow Briton Laura Robson and last played mixed at a major event when he and another Briton, Heather Watson, lost in the quarterfinals of the Rio Olympics in 2016. He has played mixed at a Grand Slam event only twice, both times at Wimbledon, in 2005 with Shahar Peer of Israel and the following year with Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium.
Williams won at Wimbledon with Mirnyi in 1998, and the pair won a second title together at the US Open later the same year. The last time she played mixed at a Grand Slam event, though, was in 2012 at the French Open when she and fellow American Bob Bryan lost in the first round.
Between them, Serena and Venus Williams own a calendar-year mixed doubles Grand Slam in 1998, with Venus partnering Justin Gimelstob to win the Australian Open and French Opens, while Serena won Wimbledon and the US Open with Mirnyi.