WTA Finals 2023 Doubles Preview: Breaking Down the Top 8 Teams

When looking back on the 2023 WTA doubles season, it feels more like multiple mini-seasons packed into one calendar year instead of one cohesive season. In a year where we saw four different major team winners, there were a few notable peaks and valleys without one dominant team from start to finish. Three key stories of the 2023 season come to mind for me.

• The Czech duo of Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova started the year off in convincing fashion with an 11-0 record and back-to-back titles at the Australian Open and Indian Wells but then struggled to regain their peak form after injuries and dips in confidence.

• Despite being away from the tour for 18 months, veteran and fan favorite Hsieh Su-Wei picked back up where she left off by winning the “Channel Slam” in vintage Hsieh fashion. She partnered with 21-year-old Chinese talent, Xinyu Wang, to capture the Roland Garros title before teaming with former partner Barbora Strycova on a fairytale quest to capture their second Wimbledon title.

• Perhaps the most unlikely team in the Cancun field, Gaby Dabrowksi and Erin Routliffe joined forces in August after a difficult start to the season where neither player had a consistent partner. Dabrowski and Routliffe made a late-season surge with a 13-3 record that included their debut grand slam title at the U.S. Open, a runner-up finish at the WTA 1000 event in Guadalajara, and a WTA 500 title in Zhengzhou.

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WTA Finals: Get to Know the “Elite 8” Competing in Cancun

Among the WTA Finals field in Cancun, only three of eight teams who competed in Fort Worth in 2022 will make their return in 2023.

• No. 1 Coco Gauff and Jess Pegula
• No. 4 Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova
• No. 5 Desirae Krawczyk and Demi Schuurs

Gaby Dabrowski, Elise Mertens, and Demi Schuurs will each make their fifth WTA Finals appearance with multiple partners.

The most accomplished team in the field with seven major titles, Krejcikova and Siniakova, will also make their fifth WTA Finals appearance and are still considered a favorite by many to win the title, regardless of the No. 4 seed next to their name.

As the doubles action kicks off in Cancun, here’s a breakdown of all eight teams:

• No. 1 Coco Gauff & Jess Pegula (5,565 points)
• No. 2 Storm Hunter & Elise Mertens (5,130 points)
• No. 3 Shuko Aoyama & Ena Shibahara (3,790 points)
• No. 4 Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova (3,785 points)
• No. 5 Desirae Krawczyk & Demi Schuurs (3,570 points)
• No. 6 Vera Zvonareva & Laura Siegemund (3,405 points)
• No. 7 Gaby Dabrowski & Erin Routliffe (3,386 points)
• No. 8 Nicole Melichar-Martinez & Ellen Perez (3,325 points)
• Alternates: Leylah Fernandez & Taylor Townsend (3,310 points)

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No. 1 Coco Gauff & Jess Pegula

In a year of significant parity on the WTA doubles tour, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula posted yet another consistent 2023 campaign. The top-seeded American duo won two hardcourt titles in Doha and Miami and also achieved the number No. 1 doubles ranking, a spot they regained again in this week’s rankings.

The only gaping absence on their doubles resume? A major doubles title.

Gauff and Pegula made back-to-back semifinals at the Australian Open and French Open, Round of 16 at Wimbledon, and quarterfinals at the U.S. Open but ultimately came up short in the biggest moments.

They’ll look to redeem themselves this year in Cancun after a disappointing result at the 2022 WTA Finals in Fort Worth, where they went 0-3 in doubles and a combined 0-9 in singles and doubles. A title win at the WTA Finals could get them one step closer to achieving grand slam doubles success.

• Partnership History: Teamed up for the first time in February 2022 after Gauff’s successful partnership with Caty McNally came to an end due to different singles rankings and scheduling priorities.
• 2023 Team Record: 35-10 (78%)
• 2023 Titles/Finals: Winners in Doha and Miami; finalists in Madrid and Rome

Strategy Snapshot: Gauff’s strong first serve and athleticism at the net combined with Pegula’s solid groundstrokes off both wings and overall steadiness creates the winning formula for this team. While their doubles IQ has improved tremendously, neither player has natural aggressive net instincts, which can create matchup issues against some of the top doubles teams who use the net as their hunting ground.

• WTA Finals Group: Mahahual Group
• 2023 H2H vs. Field: 5-3 (63%)
  • Hunter/Mertens: 1-1
  • Krejcikova/Siniakova: 0-0
  • Krawczyk/Schuurs: 1-0
  • Aoyama/Shibahara: 1-1
  • Dabrowski/Routliffe: 0-0
  • Melichar-Martinez/Perez: 1-0
  • Zvonareva/Siegemund: 1-1

Prediction: Similar to 2022, the Americans will be doing double duty in singles and doubles, which could either help or hurt them depending on which version of Gauff/Pegula shows up to play. Look for them to advance out of group play and post a semifinal performance.

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No. 2 Storm Hunter & Elise Mertens

Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens have proven capable of winning with just about any partner on the doubles court, so it was only a matter of time before they shared the court together. The Aussie-Belgian duo joined forces at the beginning of the year and never looked back. Their 2023 campaign was highlighted by two WTA 1000 titles at the Italian Open and Guadalajara and a runner-up finish at Wimbledon.

Mertens will enter Cancun as the 2022 WTA Finals defending champion, where she and former partner Veronika Kudermetova defeated Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova in a dramatic three-set championship match in Fort Worth.

This year will also mark Mertens’ fifth consecutive WTA Finals appearance with five different partners: Demi Schuurs (2018), Aryna Sabalenka (2019), Hsieh Su-Wei (2021), Veronika Kudermetova (2022) and Storm Hunter (2023). Hunter will be making her debut WTA Finals appearance in Cancun.

• Partnership History: Teamed up at the beginning of 2023
• 2023 Team Record: 27-10 (73%)
• 2023 Titles/Finals: Winners in Rome and Guadalajara; finalists at Wimbledon

Strategy Snapshot: Mertens arguably has the best baseline game in women’s doubles. She uses her forehand, backhand, and lob to tactfully to redirect points, neutralize net players, and force opponents into uncomfortable positions.

Hunter, a lefty, is explosive at the net and solid off the ground. They also have the added benefit of being a righty-lefty partnership, where they return with forehands in the middle.

• WTA Finals Group: Maya Ka’an Group
• 2023 H2H vs. the Field: 2-3 (40%)
  • Gauff/Pegula: 1-1
  • Krejcikova/Siniakova: 0-1
  • Krawczyk/Schuurs: 0-1
  • Aoyama/Shibahara: 0-0
  • Dabrowski/Routliffe: 1-0
  • Melichar-Martinez/Perez: 0-0
  • Zvonareva/Siegemund: 0-0

Prediction: Mertens and Hunter are arguably the most reliable of the top 8 teams in the WTA Finals field. Look for them to advance out of group play and make a run to the finals, where they will finish second place.

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No. 3 Shuko Aoyama & Ena Shibahara

After a brief partnership hiatus in 2022, the Japanese duo of Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara reunited at the beginning of 2023 and quickly returned to their winning ways. They started off the year strong with a runner-up finish at the Australian Open at the hands of Krejcikova and Siniakova.

Joining the ranks of many other two-title winners in 2023, Aoyama and Shibahara’s pair of titles together came on the grass in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and hard courts in Montreal. They can be prone to performance dips, however, with a brutal 11 first-round losses this year including Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Aoyama and Shibahara will be making their second WTA finals appearance after a run to the semifinals in 2021.

• Partnership History: On-again off-again partnership dating back to 2021
• 2023 Team Record: 26-19 (58%)
• 2023 Titles & Finals: Winners in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Montreal; finalists at Australian Open and Zhengzhou

Strategy Snapshot: Standing at a mere 5-foot-1, Aoyama covers the net like she’s 6-foot-2 with fierce aggression and frequent poaching and faking. Shibahara has a solid serve and heavy forehand that set up Aoyama nicely to pounce at the net.

The round-robin format should allow them to play into form and avoid the streaky first-round losses they experienced many times in 2023. If they can hold Shuko’s serve, they’ll be dangerous.

• WTA Finals Group: Maya Ka’an Group
• 2023 H2H vs. the Field: 5-5 (50%)
  • Gauff/Pegula: 1-1
  • Hunter/Mertens: 0-0
  • Krejcikova/Siniakova: 0-2
  • Krawczyk/Schuurs: 1-1
  • Dabrowski/Routliffe: 0-1
  • Melichar-Martinez/Perez: 2-0
  • Zvonareva/Siegemund: 1-0

Prediction: They’ll be competitive and win a round in group play but come up short in a few tight losses and won’t make it out of the group.

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No. 4 Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova

The once-dominant former No. 1 Czech team started 2023 on a tear and then the train partially fell off the tracks… for their standards at least. After winning back-to-back titles at the Australian Open and Indian Wells, they looked well on their way to another record-breaking year in doubles before nagging injuries and confidence derailed much of the remainder of their season.

With seven major titles together, the Czech duo is the most accomplished team in the field and should beat everyone at their best. But which version of Krejcikova and Siniakova will show up in Cancun?

• Partnership History: They have the most history among any doubles teams in the WTA Finals with a decade-long partnership that dates back to their junior playing days. 2018 was their breakout year on tour in doubles, winning their first major titles and qualifying for their debut WTA Finals.
• 2023 Team Record: 18-5 (78%)
• 2023 Titles/Finals: Winners at Australian Open, Indian Wells, and San Diego

Strategy Snapshot: Siniakova has been the best net player on the women’s doubles tour over the past several seasons. Her movement and wingspan make it tough for any opponent trying to out-rally Krejcikova.

Krejcikova is incredibly solid from the baseline, particularly from the deuce court, and can direct the ball just about anywhere she wants, which sets up Siniakova for the kill. Their only kryptonite can be themselves when Siniakova’s emotions on court, and sometimes her serve, get the best of her.

• WTA Finals Group: Mahahual Group
• 2023 H2H vs. the Field: 5-3 (63%)
  • Gauff/Pegula: 1-1
  • Hunter/Mertens: 1-0
  • Krawczyk/Schuurs: 1-0
  • Aoyama/Shibahara: 2-0
  • Dabrowski/Routliffe: 0-1
  • Melichar-Martinez/Perez: 0-1
  • Zvonareva/Siegemund: 0-0

Prediction: Look for the Czech team to find their mojo in Cancun and reclaim the WTA Finals trophy. The round-robin format should give them sufficient match play and confidence heading into the semi-finals and finals.

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No. 5 Desirae Krawczyk & Demi Schuurs

After a second successful season playing together, Desirae Krawczyk & Demi Schuurs have solidified themselves into a core fixture at the top of the WTA doubles landscape. Krawczyk and Schuurs posted another steady season of results with two WTA 500 titles in Stuttgart and Eastbourne and a runner-up finish at the WTA 1000 Canadian Open in Montreal. Krawczyk also won the doubles title at the Charleston Open alongside fellow American and good friend, Danielle Collins.

This year marks Schuurs’ fifth consecutive WTA Finals appearance with four different partners: Elise Mertens (2018), Anna-Lena Groenefeld (2019), Nicole Melichar-Martinez (2021), and Desirae Krawczyk (2022-2023).

Krawczyk will make her third career WTA Finals appearance in Cancun, having qualified with former partner Alexa Guarachi in 2021 before teaming with Schuurs in 2022 and 2023.

Can they back up their semi-finals performance last year in Fort Worth? They won’t be coming into Cancun with much momentum after Krawczyk got injured at the U.S. Open and missed the first few weeks of the Asia swing. When she returned, they lost back-to-back first-round matches in China.

• Partnership History: Teamed up at Indian Wells in March 2022
• 2023 Team Record: 27-14 (65%)
• 2023 Titles/Finals: Winners in Stuttgart and Eastbourne; finalists in Montreal

Strategy Snapshot: Schuurs has incredible hands, natural net instincts, and one of the best returns on the doubles tour. Krawczyk brings an explosive lefty baseline game to the table with a mix of passing shots, angles, and quick movement that make this lefty-right pairing tough to beat when they’re in the zone.

Neither possesses a huge serve, but when their returns are both dialed in, they can make holding serve a nightmare.

• WTA Finals Group: Maya Ka’an Group
• 2023 H2H vs. the Field: 3-3 (50%)
  • Gauff/Pegula: 0-1
  • Hunter/Mertens: 1-0
  • Krejcikova/Siniakova: 0-1
  • Aoyama/Shibahara: 1-1
  • Dabrowski/Routliffe: 0-0
  • Melichar-Martinez/Perez: 1-0
  • Zvonareva/Siegemund: 0-0

Prediction: Krawczyk and Schuurs match up well against the teams in their group and will make it out of group play with a few tight wins, repeating their semi-finals finish from last year in Fort Worth (and three-peat semifinalist for Schuurs).

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No. 6 Laura Siegemund & Vera Zvonareva

Age is just a number, right? Veterans Laura Siegemund, 35, and Vera Zvonareva, 39, turned back time on the doubles court this year and barely qualified for Cancun in the nick of time.

The 2020 U.S. Open champions made an impressive late-season surge to qualify for Cancun, including a run to the finals at the U.S. Open and WTA 250 titles in Ningbo and last week in Nanchang. With the title win, they soared up from No. 9 to the No. 6 spot and narrowly edged Leylah Fernandez and Taylor Townsend, who previously held the No. 8 spot.

Former world No. 2 Vera Zvonareva will make her return to the WTA Finals for the first time in over a decade. At the peak of her singles career, she qualified five times in 2004 and again from 2008-2011. She also qualified for doubles in 2005 alongside former partner Elena Likhovsteva. Siegemund will make her WTA Finals debut in Cancun.

• Partnership History: Although they both have long careers on the WTA, they first burst into the doubles spotlight as a duo when they won their maiden slam together at the 2020 U.S. Open.
• 2023 Team Record: 26-11 (70%)
• 2023 Titles & Finals: Winners in Washington D.C, Ningbo, and Nanchang; finalists at the U.S. Open.

Strategy Snapshot: Siegemund is one of the most explosive doubles players who anticipates as good as anyone in doubles, especially at net. A former world no. 2 singles player, Zvonareva has the all-court game that balances Siegemund’s aggressive style. Both can be vulnerable on their serves at times, but when things are clicking, they are a deadly 1-2 punch.

• WTA Finals Group: Mahahual Group
• 2023 H2H vs. the Field: 2-3 (40%)
  • Gauff/Pegula: 1-1
  • Hunter/Mertens: 0-0
  • Krejcikova/Siniakova: 0-0
  • Krawczyk/Schuurs: 0-0
  • Aoyama/Shibahara: 0-1
  • Dabrowski/Routliffe: 0-1
  • Melichar-Martinez/Perez: 1-0

Prediction: After playing a full schedule during the Asian swing to qualify for the WTA Finals, Siegemund and Zvonareva will run out of gas in Cancun and fail to make it beyond the round-robin format.

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No. 7 Gaby Dabrowski & Erin Routliffe

The biggest surprise and most in-form team heading into the WTA Finals is the newly minted duo of Gaby Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe, 2023 U.S. Open doubles champions. After both experienced a difficult first half of the season, they joined forces midway through the summer and began their doubles campaign on home turf in Montreal.

Their late-season surge included a surprise U.S. Open championship run to capture both of their maiden grand slam titles in women’s doubles. In the fall swing, they backed up their U.S. Open performance in convincing fashion with a finals finish in Guadalajara and a WTA 500 Title at the Bank of Communications Open in Zhengzhou, which secured their spot in the WTA Finals.

Along with Elise Mertens and Demi Schuurs, Dabrowski will enter her 5th WTA Finals appearance this year with multiple partners: Yifan Xu (2017-2019), Gugu Olmos (2022) and Erin Routliffe (2023). Coming off a career-best year on tour, Routliffe will make her WTA Finals debut in Cancun.

• Partnership History: Teamed up for the first time in August 2023 at the National Bank Open in Montreal
• 2023 Team Record: 17-6 (74%)
• 2023 Titles & Finals: Winners at U.S. Open and Zhengzhou; finalists in Guadalajara

Strategy Snapshot: Gaby Dabrowski has one of the most complete doubles games on tour with the perfect mix of power, placement, shot selection, and doubles IQ. At 6-foot-2, Erin Routliffe has one of the biggest serves and longest wingspans at the net in the women’s game. This explosive team will be coming into Cancun with full confidence and zero pressure fresh off their second title win in Zhengzhou.

• WTA Finals Group: Mahahual Group
• 2023 H2H vs. the Field: 4-1 (80%)
  • Gauff/Pegula: 0-0
  • Hunter/Mertens: 0-1
  • Krejcikova/Siniakova: 1-0
  • Krawczyk/Schuurs: 0-0
  • Aoyama/Shibahara: 2-0
  • Melichar-Martinez/Perez: 0-0
  • Zvonareva/Siegemund: 1-0

Prediction: In only three months of playing together, Dabrowski and Routliffe are coming into form and have a convincing 4-1 head-to-head over many of the teams in the field. Look for them to advance out of group play but come up short in the semi-finals.

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No. 8 Nicole Melichar-Martinez & Ellen Perez

In 2022, Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Ellen Perez narrowly missed qualification for the WTA Finals thanks to a surprise run to the Guadalajara finals by Anna Danilina and Beatriz Haddad-Maia, who knocked them out of the top 8. This year, they narrowly qualified for Cancun as the No. 8 team only 15 points ahead of No. 9 Taylor Townsend and Leylah Fernandez.

2023 was an up-and-down year for Melichar-Martinez/Perez highlighted by four runner-up performances, a semifinal run at Roland Garros, and career-high rankings for both players. Their 2nd season together once again peaked during the North American summer hardcourt swing with back-to-back final runs in Cincinnati and Cleveland.

They also finished runner-up at the inaugural ATX Open in Austin and Eastbourne, compiling a 0-4 record in finals together in 2023. Melichar-Martinez enters her 3rd WTA Finals appearance and Perez will make her debut this year after the team served as alternates last year in Fort Worth.

• Partnership History: They first teamed up midway through the 2022 season
• 2023 Team Record: 28-24 (54%)
• 2023 Titles & Finals: 0 titles; finalists in Austin, Eastbourne, Cincinnati, and Cleveland; Melichar-Martinez was also a finalist at Stuttgart with Gugu Olmos

Strategy Snapshot: At their best, Melichar-Martinez and Perez possess one of the bigger upsides of any doubles team in the field. But they can also be prone to up and down results.

Melichar-Martinez’s powerful serve, forehand, and finishing ability at the net complement Perez’s athleticism, footwork, and baseline play. If they catch fire like they did pre-US Open the past two years, they could certainly go deep in Cancun.

• WTA Finals Group: Maya Ka’an Group
• 2023 H2H vs. the Field: 1-6 (14%)
  • Gauff/Pegula: 0-2
  • Hunter/Mertens: 0-0
  • Krejcikova/Siniakova: 1-0
  • Krawczyk/Schuurs: 0-1
  • Dabrowski/Routliffe: 0-0
  • Aoyama/Shibahara: 0-2
  • Zvonareva/Siegemund: 0-1

Prediction: The odds aren’t in their favor on paper with a difficult H2H of 1-6 against the WTA Finals field this year. The Round Robin format and being the No. 8 seed will help alleviate some pressure and allow them to play into form, but it may not be enough. Look for them to go 1-2 in group play and finish their season in the group stage.