Elise Mertens and Shuai Zhang reunited to capture the 2026 Australian Open women's doubles crown, defeating Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic in the final. The Belgian-Chinese pair overcame a challenging first set to secure a 7-6(4), 6-4 victory. With the win, Mertens reclaims the world No. 1 doubles ranking.
Four years after reaching the Wimbledon doubles final as runners-up, Elise Mertens and Shuai Zhang made a successful comeback at the Australian Open. The duo, who had not played a Grand Slam together since 2022, entered as the No. 4 seeds and faced the No. 7 seeds, Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic, in the championship match on Saturday.
The final began with Danilina and Krunic taking a 4-1 lead in the first set. Mertens and Zhang mounted a comeback, winning four straight games to gain the edge. Despite failing to convert two set points in the 12th game, they dominated the tiebreak with a 6-0 lead, securing the set on their seventh set point. In the second set, the winners surged to a 5-0 advantage but faced resistance, needing to save two championship points at 5-2 before closing out the match at 6-4.
"This is second time play together at the Grand Slam," Zhang said. "First time we make to the final, and this time we got the trophy. Very special. We show every team how good we are."
The victory marks Mertens' sixth Grand Slam doubles title, with three coming at Melbourne Park. Zhang now has three major trophies, her previous ones alongside Samantha Stosur in 2019 and 2021. Mertens, previously ranked No. 6, will reclaim the top spot in the PIF WTA doubles rankings on Monday, logging her 40th week at No. 1.
"It's been definitely a good couple of months, especially on the Grand Slams," Mertens said. "I knew if we would win the semis, that I would be No. 1 again, so that was definitely a motivation."
En route to the title, the pair saved three match points in the second round against Iva Jovic and Victoria Mboko. Mertens and Zhang plan to continue partnering at upcoming WTA 1000 events in Doha and Dubai, expressing confidence in their partnership.