After winning three titles and landing a spot in the 2018 WTA Finals field, Elise Mertens informed her partner, Dutch doubles specialist Demi Schuurs, that she wanted to focus more on her burgeoning singles career.
Intending to scale back her time on the doubles court in 2019, Mertens played her first event of the year at the Australian Open with fellow singles standout Aryna Sabalenka. The pair made it to the third round, along the way defeating Schuurs and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
They didn’t play doubles again until the Premier Mandatory tournament in Indian Wells, Calif. There, the contenders for the singles crown caught fire.