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Elise Mertens marked her instrumentality to the No. 1 ranking successful women's doubles by combining with China's Zhang Shuai to triumph the Australian Open rubric connected Saturday (January 31, 2026), joined aboriginal by American Christian Harrison and Britain's Neal Skupski who won the men's doubles trophy.
Back unneurotic aft 4 years isolated arsenic a team, Mertens and Zhang trailed 3-0 and 4-1 successful the archetypal acceptable but rallied to bushed Anna Danilina of Kazakhstan and Serbia's Aleksandra Krunic 7-6 (4), 6-4. Mertens and Zhang led the last acceptable 5-0 earlier withstanding a comeback effort erstwhile Danilina and Krunic won 4 consecutive games.
Harrison served an ace connected lucifer constituent to springiness helium and Skupski a triumph successful the men's last by the aforesaid people arsenic the women — 7-6 (4), 6-4 — implicit the Australian brace of Jason Kubler and Marc Polmans. Kubler went into the lucifer with a 14-3 doubles grounds astatine his location major.
Harrison and Skupski, who some competed astatine past year's ATP Finals with antithetic partners, joined arsenic a squad for the archetypal clip successful Adelaide earlier this month, wherever they reached the semifinals.
Currently ranked No. 6 successful doubles, Mertens, who won the Wimbledon doubles rubric past twelvemonth with Veronika Kudermetova, volition instrumentality to the No. 1 ranking aft the Australian Open.
That volition people the Belgian player's 40th cumulative week arsenic No. 1 successful doubles and was guaranteed careless of the result of the Melbourne Park last Saturday.
The triumph Saturday (January 31, 2026) was Mertens' sixth Grand Slam doubles title, including 2021 and 2024 astatine Melbourne Park. Zhang present has three, including the 2019 Australian Open and the 2021 U.S. Open.
It was their archetypal Grand Slam trophy arsenic a team, having mislaid the 2022 Wimbledon last successful their past quality together.
“This is similar cherry connected the cake,” Mertens said. “We paired up arsenic a squad precise last-minute . . . this was our archetypal tourney backmost together. In the 2nd circular we saved 3 lucifer points, truthful that benignant of took america to different level. An unbelievable 2 weeks."
Mertens reached the 4th circular of women's singles astatine Melbourne Park this twelvemonth earlier being beaten by eventual finalist Elena Rybakina.
Zhang says she and Mertens accommodate well.
“We cognize however to play finals, we cognize however to triumph finals,” Zhang said. “We are some precise calm. If thing doesn't enactment . . . we ever adjust.”
The mixed doubles last was played connected Friday (January 30, 2026), erstwhile Australians Olivia Gadecki and John Peers became the archetypal squad to triumph consecutive titles since 1989 aft beating the French brace of Kristina Mladenovic and Manuel Guinard 4-6, 6-3, 10-8.
