Powerful partnership! Zhang Shuai aims for the 2026 Australian Open women's doubles title

As the undeniable senior figure among the current Chinese female players, Zhang Shuai, born in 1989, is about to turn 37. This age is considered quite advanced for any professional sport, yet Zhang, who has competed on the professional tennis circuit for nearly two decades, remains at an excellent stage of her career.

This year, she performed impressively during the Asian season, reaching the singles semifinals at the Guangzhou Open. While many players chose to take breaks, she continued to enter multiple ITF and WTA 125K tournaments. Last month, Zhang won her third singles title of the year at the W50 event in Yokohama. Her world ranking has stayed consistently within the top 100, securing her spot in the main draw of next year's Australian Open singles.

Last week, Zhang lost in the second round of the WTA 125K event in Angers to her longtime rival Bacsinszky, missing out on the quarterfinals. This week, she is competing at the WTA 125K tournament in Limoges, where she partners with Bouchard as the top-seeded doubles team. This event is the last high-level challenger of the year, and fans are hoping for a strong performance from Zhang this week.

For professional tennis players, the 2025 season is nearing its end, and many are already looking ahead and preparing for the new 2026 season. Zhang Shuai and Elise Mertens have both registered for the women's doubles at the 2026 Australian Open, and it is reported that they will team up for the first Grand Slam of next year.

Many fans are familiar with this duo, who have partnered five times before with outstanding results, including finishing as runners-up in the 2022 Wimbledon women's doubles and the Birmingham final. This year, they also reached the women's doubles quarterfinals together in Miami.

Mertens has always balanced both singles and doubles play. She has had a very successful doubles season, reaching the final of the year-end championships with Kudermetova as the fourth seed, defeating several pairs along the way. They won the title by beating Babos and Stefani 7-6, 6-1. This victory marked their second trophy together since Wimbledon and their first year-end championship doubles title in three years.

Mertens is currently ranked fifth in the world in women's doubles, while Zhang holds the 16th spot. Their partnership at the Australian Open is expected to earn them a strong seeding position.

It is worth noting that Zhang’s partner for the Australian Open warm-up events will not be Mertens but the Russian star Samsonova. However, adapting to a new partner should not be difficult for Zhang, who has frequently changed doubles teammates over the past few seasons. So, do you think Zhang still has a chance to win a Grand Slam women's doubles title?(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Barbie)