Author | Lightnews

Hanlon Walsh

@hanlonwalsh.bsky.social

400 followers 64 following 320 posts

Tennis Writer (Mostly Doubles) & Media/Comms Specialist 🎾🎙️📢 https://www.thetennistribe.com/doubles-news/

www.thetennistribe.com

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Hanlon Walsh @hanlonwalsh.bsky.social · Jul 28

From teen prodigy to working mom, Taylor Townsend’s pro journey hasn’t been easy.
A look at her title in Washington, rise to world No. 1, and what this could mean for pro doubles.

Thanks to @benrothenberg.bsky.social
for weighing in. My story from DC:

thetennistribe.com/new-doubles-...

Can World No. 1 Taylor Townsend Take Doubles to New Heights?

A look at the rise of American Taylor Townsend as the top ranked doubles player in the world, and what this could mean for doubles

thetennistribe.com

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Hanlon Walsh @hanlonwalsh.bsky.social · 8h

The Hsieh & Ostapenko train keeps on rollin’ in Riyadh 🚂

The fan favorites take out No. 1 seeds Errani/Paolini 6-3, 6-4 in a clinical performance to go 2-0 (and in great position to make the SFs).

Hsieh last won this event in 2013 & Ostapenko eyes her 1st WTA Finals title.

Hanlon Walsh @hanlonwalsh.bsky.social · 9h

38 year-old Sara Errani & 39 year-old Hsieh Su-Wei both competed in the same WTA Finals events in 2013 & 2014.

Eleven years later, they’re back for another WTA Finals, competing against each other for a semifinals spot today 👊🏻

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Hanlon Walsh @hanlonwalsh.bsky.social · 1d

No. 2 Katerina Siniakova & Taylor Townsend edge past No. 7 Timea Babos & Luisa Stefani 6-2, 3-6, 10-6 in their opening match in Riyadh.

The 2024 finalists are 29-5 on the year with the highest win percentage (85%) among the top 8 field 💯

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Hanlon Walsh @hanlonwalsh.bsky.social · 1d

Defending champs Gaby Dabrowski & Erin Routliffe are the longest standing doubles team at the top of the game, and the only pair to make 3 consecutive WTA Finals.

They would be the 1st team to successfully defend this title since Babos/Mladenovic in 2018-2019.

thetennistribe.com/2025-wta-fin...

2025 WTA Finals Preview: Dabrowski & Routliffe Eye Title Defense

An in-depth breakdown of the eight WTA doubles teams competing at the year-end championship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

thetennistribe.com

Hanlon Walsh @hanlonwalsh.bsky.social · 1d

No. 3 Gaby Dabrowski & Erin Routliffe open up their title defense with a 6-3, 7-6 win over No. 5 Mirra Andreeva & Diana Shnaider 💥

Gaby & Erin are the longest standing team in the field and the only pair to make 3 straight WTA Finals appearances together.

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Hanlon Walsh @hanlonwalsh.bsky.social · 2d

No. 6 Hsieh/Ostapenko outlast No. 4 Mertens/Kudermetova 1-6, 7-5, 10-5 to round out day 1 in Riyadh 🔥

Hsieh was nearly flawless in the 3rd set tiebreaker, all over the net from corner to corner. The 39-year-old is in her 6th WTA Finals appearance in the last 13 years.

Hanlon Walsh @hanlonwalsh.bsky.social · 2d

No. 1 seeds Sara Errani & Jasmine Paolini come out of the gates strong with a comprehensive 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 8 Demi Schuurs & Asia Muhammad.

Their impressive 2025 haul includes a Roland Garros trophy, 3 masters 1000 titles, and BJK Cup win for Team Italy 🇮🇹

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Hanlon Walsh @hanlonwalsh.bsky.social · 3d

Check out our WTA Finals doubles preview breaking down a stacked final 8 field that includes:

🏆 All 4 slam champs of 2025
💯 52 combined dubs majors
👸 7 former No. 1 players
🥇 7 Olympic medalists

Will Gaby & Erin defend their title?

thetennistribe.com/2025-wta-fin...

2025 WTA Finals Preview: Dabrowski & Routliffe Eye Title Defense

An in-depth breakdown of the eight WTA doubles teams competing at the year-end championship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

thetennistribe.com

Hanlon Walsh @hanlonwalsh.bsky.social · 3d

In 2025, all top 4 doubles seeds at the WTA Finals split the 4 slams, won five Masters 1000s, and made the US Open semifinals in a top 4 battle:

No. 1 Errani & Paolini (RG)
No. 2 Siniakova & Townsend (AO)
No. 3 Dabrowski & Routliffe (USO)
No. 4 Kudermetova & Mertens (Wimby)

Hanlon Walsh @hanlonwalsh.bsky.social · 4d

Elise Mertens, 5x slam champ and former No. 1, has now qualified for the WTA Finals 7 years in a row with 5 different partners:

2018: Demi Schuurs
2019: Aryna Sabalenka
2021: Hsieh Su-Wei
2022: Veronika Kudermetova
2023: Storm Hunter
2024: Hsieh x 2
2025: Kudermetova x 2

Wow.

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Hanlon Walsh @hanlonwalsh.bsky.social · 4d

I could easily see Alexander Bublik (15th in the ATP Finals race yet still a chance to qualify) coming out of nowhere to win the Paris Masters event and grab the last spot for Turin. It would be verryyyy on brand for him.

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Hanlon Walsh @hanlonwalsh.bsky.social · 5d

A trio of WTA doubles veterans will make their 7th WTA Finals appearance with multiple partners:

🇨🇿 Katerina Siniakova
🇨🇦 Gaby Dabrowski
🇧🇪 Elise Mertens

Siniakova & Mertens have made 7 straight appearances while Dabrowski has qualified for 7 of the last 8, dating back to 2017.

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Hanlon Walsh @hanlonwalsh.bsky.social · 14d

Three big doubles wins for Americans this past week 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

1. Nicole Melichar won her 17th WTA title in Ningbo w/ Samsonova.

2. Evan King & Christian Harrison won in Brussels, holding onto the No. 8 spot in ATP Finals race.

3. Rob Galloway won his 3rd ATP title in Stockholm.

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Hanlon Walsh @hanlonwalsh.bsky.social · 22d

Feels like Katerina Siniakova may be conducting doubles partner auditions this fall for the 2026 season…

✅ Qualifies for WTA Finals w/ Townsend
✅ Wins Korea 500 title w/ Krejcikova
✅ Wins Wuhan 1000 title w/ Hunter
🤞🏻 Enters Ningbo as top seed w/ Hsieh

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Hanlon Walsh @hanlonwalsh.bsky.social · 22d

Katerina Siniakova and Hsieh Su-Wei, the two most accomplished doubles players of this generation and longtime rivals, are teaming up together this week as the top seeds in Ningbo. This should be fun 🍿

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Hanlon Walsh @hanlonwalsh.bsky.social · 22d

Coco said she has to bring an extra suitcase home for all of the nice gifts she has received from Chinese fans. Asia seems like a nice post-USO therapy for her to relax and regroup away from the stressors of NYC. Loves the energy here.

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Hanlon Walsh @hanlonwalsh.bsky.social · 22d

So do Coco and Jess go home now to rest and train for WTA Finals? No need for more tournament play with the 1000s behind us.

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Hanlon Walsh @hanlonwalsh.bsky.social · 23d

Safe to say the American women are having a moment in 2025. It’s got to be the best year for U.S. women’s tennis as a whole since the early-mid 2000s?

2 slam winners, 2x slam finalists, multiple 1000s titles, and 4 of the top 8 qualifying for WTA Finals. Wowww 🇺🇸

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