Elise Mertens of Belgium to Reclaim Title as WTA Tour's Number 1 Doubles Player
Mertens has previously spent 23 weeks as the tour's Number 1 doubles player.
The top rankings on the WTA Tour had been remarkably consistent during the 2023 season. Since April 2022, Iga Świątek of Poland had been the Number 1 singles player on the tour. Since September 2022, Kateřina Siniaková of the Czech Republic had been the Number 1 doubles player on the tour. And then, the U.S. Open - the fourth and final Grand Slam event of the year - occurred.
After the U.S. Open, both Świątek and Siniaková fell in their respective rankings and new players grabbed those top spots. Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus has maintained her position as the Number 1 singles player since September 11. She will enter her third week overall at Number 1 next week. Meanwhile, the doubles rankings have changed hands every week since the conclusion of the U.S. Open.
Seven players were in contention for the WTA Number 1 doubles ranking at the start of the U.S. Open. Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula of the United States clinched the spot following a quarterfinals finish. That was a new career achievement for Pegula - who spent her first week at Number 1. It was the fifth week Gauff had held the ranking.
However, the Number 1 doubles ranking was immediately in contention the week of September 11 with the Southern California Open in San Diego, California (a WTA 500 event). Gauff and Pegula were the tournament’s reigning champions but chose not to defend their title. Meanwhile, Siniaková would regain the top ranking if she and her doubles partner Barbora Krejčíková of the Czech Republic won the title. That ultimately came true - with Krejčíková notably winning both the singles and doubles titles in the same night.
Despite becoming Number 1 once more, Siniaková was immediately at risk of also dropping in the rankings after only one week. She opted not to compete anywhere this week. Two tournaments are currently being contested: the Guadalajara Open in Guadalajara, Mexico (a WTA 1000 event) and the Guangzhou Open in Guangzhou, China (a WTA 250 event). Elise Mertens of Belgium (No. 4) is competing in Guadalajara alongside her doubles partner Storm Hunter of Australia (No. 6). If Mertens and Hunter made it to the semifinals, then Mertens would become Number 1 when the rankings update on September 25, 2023.
That is precisely what has now happened. In the quarterfinals, Mertens and Hunter defeated Alexa Guarachi of Chile and Monica Niculescu of Romania. The score was 6-3 and 6-1 in favor of Mertens and Hunter. This means Mertens will reclaim the Number 1 doubles title. Throughout her doubles career, she has previously spent 23 weeks at Number 1.
While the 2023 WTA Tour will be coming to a close at the end of October, it’s very possible that the rankings - in both singles and doubles - will dramatically shift once more.