WTA Finals: Paolini and Andreeva already packing — what’s next in doubles semifinals?

While the singles draw has stolen the attention at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, the doubles draw continues in action. The top-seeded pair of Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani was eliminated in the Round Robin, leaving Katerina Siniakova (No. 1) and Taylor Townsend (No. 2) as the main favorites for the title.

They will face the reigning Wimbledon champions this season in the semi-finals: Elise Mertens and Veronika Kudermetova—the primary pair responsible for eliminating Paolini/Errani after defeating them in the decisive match.

On the other side, Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko—who has been achieving great results in doubles for some time—is paired with specialist Su-Wei Hsieh. After finishing first in the Martina Navratilova Group, they will face the duo of Timea Babos and Luisa Stefani.

The Round Robin saw the surprising elimination of Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani—who entered the tournament as the first seeds in the Martina Navratilova Group. The Roland Garros champions debuted with a straightforward straight-sets win over Asia Muhammad and Demi Schuurs, but then suffered two consecutive defeats that ultimately eliminated them.

The 6th seeded pair of Jelena Ostapenko and Su-Wei Hsieh were not precisely favorites at the start of the tournament, but their third-set tie-break victory over Kudermetova/Mertens on the first day gave them the necessary momentum to seek qualification. It was revenge for the Wimbledon final, where Kudermetova/Mertens came back from a set down to claim their first Grand Slam title as a team.

In the second match, Ostapenko/Su-Wei defeated the Italians Errani/Paolini and secured their qualification with barely two matches played. After guaranteeing another victory in the final duel against Muhammad/Schuurs, they secured first place, which will undoubtedly be a boost to avoid the World No. 1s until at least the final.

Finishing second in the group were Russia's Veronika Kudermetova alongside Belgium's Elise Mertens (4th seeds), who have successfully balanced their singles and doubles careers to establish themselves as one of the best pairs in the world. They won the WTA Finals title in 2022—defeating Siniakova/Krejcikova in the final—in addition to lifting their first Grand Slam together at Wimbledon.

In the Liezel Huber Group, logic prevailed, and the second seeds Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova finished with three consecutive victories. They overcame a scare in a tight first duel against Babos/Stefani in the super tie-break, but were strong afterward: they avenged their 2024 final loss to Dabrowski and Routliffe, and closed with another victory against the Russian debutantes Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider.

Finishing in second place were the tournament's surprise so far: the 7th seeds Timea Babos and Luisa Stefani, who pushed the World No. 1 duo to the limit—losing in the super tie-break [6-10]—but then recovered for a pair of consecutive wins, both also decided by super tie-breaks.

With this, the defending champions Dabrowski and Routliffe were eliminated, managing only one victory against the Russians Andreeva/Shnaider. Precisely, the youngest duo in the tournament fell short and suffered from a lack of experience, taking three consecutive defeats and only salvaging one set in the tournament.

[6] Jelena Ostapenko / Su-Wei Hsieh vs [7] Timea Babos / Luisa Stefani

[4] Elise Mertens / Veronika Kudermetova vs [2] Taylor Townsend / Katerina Siniakova.