Hsieh and Mertens Secure Women’s Doubles Championship at the Australian Open

On Sunday at the Australian Open, Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan and Elise Mertens of Belgium secured the women’s doubles title with a commanding 6-1, 7-5 triumph over the Latvian-Ukrainian duo of Jelena Ostapenko and Lyudmyla Kichenok.

This victory marked the second Grand Slam women’s doubles crown for the second-seeded pair, adding to their Wimbledon triumph in 2021. Notably, Hsieh, at 38, became the second-oldest woman ever to clinch a Grand Slam doubles title, trailing only Lisa Raymond.

Although Hsieh bid farewell to her singles career after a first-round loss in Melbourne Park this year, she claimed her second title Down Under by also winning the mixed doubles final on Friday. The triumph over Ostapenko and Kichenok secured Hsieh’s seventh major women’s doubles title, complementing her four Wimbledon and two Roland Garros victories. Additionally, Mertens now boasts four Grand Slam women’s doubles titles.

The match’s dynamics saw Hsieh and Mertens establish an early advantage by breaking in the third game of the opening set, which they comfortably closed out. The second set proved more competitive, with Ostapenko and Kichenok taking an early service break. However, Hsieh and Mertens regrouped, breaking back to level at 2-2 and securing a crucial 5-3 lead. Despite a momentary setback at 5-5, the second seeds ultimately prevailed, breaking for the third time in the set and securing victory on their first championship point.

Following the match, Mertens commended their opponents, saying, “Congratulations, girls, for playing a great match. The second set was really close, and we had to fight really hard today. Thanks to everyone for coming out.”