In the discussion of the best women’s doubles tennis players of this generation, names like Sara Errani, Katerina Siniakova, and Su-wei Hsieh’s names come to the forefront, but they should not overshadown the accomplishments of Belgian player Elise Mertens.
Mertens won her third Australian Open doubles title in a six year timespan with three different partners.
Australian Open
Women's Double's Champion's
Elise Mertens and Shuai Zhang pic.twitter.com/13BdYGPL5v— Ken McKinnon (@mckinnon88877) January 31, 2026
With the win, Mertens ascends to the World No. 1 doubles ranking for the first time in nearly five years.
Mertens had previous partnerships with Aryna Sabalenka resulting in two Grand Slam wins, Su-wei Hsieh netting two Grand Slam wins, Veronika Kudermetova and now Shuai Zhang, both of whom she won one Grand Slam.
Kudermetova and Mertens won the 2025 Wimbledon Championships and capped off a great year by winning the WTA Finals for the second time (2022 and 2025), but Kudermetova is taking time away from tennis, many believe she is expecting a child though that has not been confirmed.
As a result, Mertens and Zhang began working together in 2026. The winning results are instant. Zhang is 37 years old and a reputable doubles partner in her own right. Her character shone through in her speech at the 2026 Australian Open doubles trophy presentation. Zhang won two Grand Slams with Samantha Stosur.
Shuai Zhang, you are a class act 👏 pic.twitter.com/4AwgrutXmV
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 31, 2026
Elise Mertens Is A Dual Threat
Mertens is known for her doubles play with 24 titless. However, she has 10 singles titles also, knocking on the door of the WTA Top 20 after surging in 2025 with two wins in Singapore and Rosmalen.
She lost in singles in the fourth round this year in Melbourne to the eventual champion, Elena Rybakina.
Rybakina and Mertens share the common thread of winning the WTA Finals in November and the Australian Open in two months time. In some ways, Mertens win is more impressive because she accomplished the feat with two different partners, which leads us back to the age old debate of which Grand Slam is easier to win, singles or doubles.
