Doubles Take: Previewing the WTA Finals

Eight of the top doubles teams in the world are about to hit the court at the WTA Finals in Singapore. With the way many of the teams finished up the regular season, this could be one of the most up-for-grabs editions of the tournament in event history. Australian and French Open champs Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova won’t be there, which opens up the field even more.

Doubles action kicks off on Thursday, so here’s a look at the eight teams in contention:

1

Martina Hingis and Yung-Jan Chan

Talk about finding the perfect partner: The two just started playing together this year and managed to win nine titles, including the US Open. Their first title came in Indian Wells—only their third event as a team.

2

Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina

Perhaps the most accomplished team in the field, the Russians are the defending champions and are back at it after another successful season that saw them win their third Grand Slam together at Wimbledon.

3

Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua

This has been the year of the comeback in professional tennis, and Barty’s after a break to play cricket ranks right up there with the best of them. Dellacqua also made a return from a concussion that hindered her for more than a year. The Aussies are playing better than ever, with three titles in six finals (including a runner-up appearance at the French Open. .

4

Timea Babos and Andrea Hlavackova

When everything just goes right for an athlete, it’s often described as being “in the zone.” It looks like Babos and Hlavackova have taken up residence there since the US Open. They’ve reached the finals in their last four tournaments, and won three of them.

5

Gabriela Dabrowski and Yifan Xu

Back in April, the unseeded team of Dabrowski and Xu caused some ripples in the doubles world when they captured the Premier Mandatory tournament in Miami—in their first event as a team. They added another hard-court title in Connecticut before the US Open, and have posted some solid results, including a quarterfinal run in Beijing.

6

Kveta Peschke and Anna-Lena Gronefeld

After a long and distinguished career, Gronefeld is making her debut at the year-end championships. Her partner has been there before, reaching the doubles final in 2011.  The two veterans had a solid run during the 2017 regular season, capped by a runner-up finish in Toronto.

7

Andreja Klepac and Maria Jose Sanchez Martinez

Though there have been some instant success stories on the WTA Tour this year, sometimes it takes a little longer to gel. For Klepac and Sanchez Martinez, that time appears to be now. After the US Open, where they reached the quarterfinals, Klepac and Sanchez Martinez won their first title as a team, the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Japan.

8

Johanna Larsson and Kiki Bertens

Consistently ranking among the Top 100 in singles, these two have been a prolific pairing the past three years with nine titles together—including four this year. Two of those have come on hard courts after the US Open.

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