Elise Mertens loses top doubles spot despite Indian Wells win
Despite winning the doubles title for the third time in her career at the WTA 1,000 tournament in Indian Wells on Saturday, her 20th doubles title, Belgian tennis player Elise Mertens has lost top spot in the WTA rankings. When the rankings are published on Monday, she will be in second place, 24 points behind her doubles partner, Taiwan's Hsieh Su-Wei.
Mertens became world number one in the doubles rankings for the first time in May 2010. Since then, she has held the top spot for a total of 34 weeks, spread over eight periods. Taiwan's Hsieh Su-Wei, who will claim the top spot tomorrow, will be in her 48th week as world number one.
Alongside Hsieh, Mertens won the doubles title for the third time in her career on Saturday at the WTA 1,000 tournament in Indian Wells, USA. The pair beat Australian Storm Hunter and Czech Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 6-4 in the final.
It was the 20th doubles title on the WTA Tour for Mertens. She had previously won the Indian Wells tournament, also known as the "fifth Grand Slam", in 2019, with Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, and in 2021 with Hsieh. Earlier this year, Mertens and Hsieh claimed a Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.
"We grew in the tournament and finally all the pieces fell together," said Mertens after winning the doubles title. "We had a very good tournament and didn't lose a single set. I am very happy with the level we reached here."
In the singles tournament at Indian Wells, Mertens lost 6-0, 6-2 to American Coco Gauff in the last 16 on Wednesday.
Belgium's Elise Mertens © PHOTO FREDERIC J BROWN / AFP
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