WUHAN NEWS & NOTES
*Hunter-Siniakova are back this year to defend their 2025 Wuhan championships. Hunter-Siniakova won as an unseeded pair last year over (8)Danilina-Krunic 6-3, 6-2. They were 1.39 (-256) favorites in the final. It was the second straight season since the post-pandemic reboot that an unseeded pair won. Danilina-Khromacheva won the titles as 2.10 (+110) unseeded underdogs in 2024.
*In eight versions of the Wuhan Open, only two have ended in super tie breaks. That last one came in 2017. In 2025, super tie breaks were plentiful outside of the final with ten of the 25 completed matches needing the extra frame. Round one featured seven of those STBs. In 2024, there were also ten super tie breaks. All but one came in the opening round, so the trend is there to follow. Just one of the four semifinals since the reboot in 2024 has gone the distance.
*Underdogs had a decent showing last year with seven winners. Unsurprisingly again with the volume of matches in round one (16), that’s the spot where most of these came into play with seven u-dog victories in the opening round. The highest came at 3.62 (+262). Four of those came with seeds losing. Eight underdogs won in 2024, but the majority came outside of the opening round with two in the second round, three in the quarters and the final. The largest came at 2.95 (+195) in round two.
*I mentioned earlier that four seeds went down in the opening round a year ago. Two more withdrew before their first match, leaving just two seeds to survive to round two. In 2024, four seeded pairs also lost their openers in Wuhan. That means we have seen plenty of unseeded pairs late in the tournament with seven of the last eight semifinalists being unseeded. Prior to the pandemic break from 2020-2023, unseeded pairs were still regular visitors to the business end of the Wuhan Open. Only the first year of this tournament back in 2014 saw all four semifinal spots go to seeds, so I’ll focus on who might be in the mix to join that crowded field of unseeded contenders.
*The race for the unclaimed spots for this year’s WTA Finals, there’s still several left, is at a fever pitch during this Asian swing. Mihalikova-Nicholls hold the final spot as the current #9 pair. That is the last spot this year due to (3)Danilina-Krunic being unable to participate due to Krunic’s knee injury. Aoyama-Liang, Routliffe-Sutjiadi, Eikeri-Gleason and Errani-Paolini are all in the Wuhan field this week and well within striking distance of that spot. Schuurs-Perez, Hsieh-Ostapenko and Bucsa/Melichar-Martinez at spots five-seven could inch closer to clinching their spots with some wins. Every win is HUGE at this point, so all those pairs will be looking to see what results come in this week in Wuhan.
With the run of unseeded pairs making it into the last four an ultimately winning the last two titles in Wuhan, we must focus on the unseeded field for danger duos this week.
Routliffe-Sutjiadi
They continue to pump out solid results that has seen them climb into the Finals race despite only playing together for two months. They’ve won seven of eight since the U.S. Open and stand at 17-4 this season. Having to navigate past Mertens-Shnaider and likely Dabrowski-Stefani is a lot to ask, just to make the semifinals. Still, opportunity may come calling and they showed capable of beating top tier pairs with a win over Hsieh-Ostapenko last week in Beijing.
Muhammad-Pegula
The 2024 Wuhan finalists are paired back up his week for just the second time in 2026. There’s obviously chemistry there, so they’re a pair to watch. They could match up against Hsieh-Ostapenko in round two and may have to fight through Bucsa/Melichar-Martinez too in their quarter. Still, they’re an intriguing pair.
MIhalikova-Nicholls
Yes, they are harder to predict than the weather, but this has been a decent stop for them the last two years. They made the quarters in 2024 and the semis last year. Picking a pair that’s lost six of their last seven seems dumb, right? This is still a duo that pulls out big results when you least expect it. It’s a hard road with Errani-Paolini and Danilina-Zhang in their immediate draw, but strange things do tend to happen last in the season.
ONE AND DONE WATCH
Four seeded pairs have gone one and done each of the last two years in Wuhan. It’s that time of year where fatigue and focus can lead to some interesting results, so let’s take a look at the seeds who could be prone to an early loss this year.
(4)Hsieh-Ostapenko
This is more about who they could play than the form they are in as they’ve proven steady on hard courts all season with a 21-6 record, making the quarterfinals last week in Beijing. This is a tall ask for whomever they face since Hsieh-Ostapenko have not lost their starter at any of their eight 2026 tournaments. I think the pair that would be problematic if they face them off the bye is Muhammad-Pegula. I already loaded up on my thoughts about the 2024 Wuhan runners-up being potential spoilers again this year as an unseeded pair. Keep an eye on who the four seeds get matched against in round two.
(5)Bucsa/Melichar-Martinez
They will need to be alert in round one when they face Chinese wild cards Jiang-Wang. That pair has only played one match together, but they took a set off Hsieh-Ostapenko in that one last week in Beijing. They would ultimately lose 6-1, 1-6, 10-4. Bucsa/Melichar-Martinez have not lost an opener in their last three tournaments, but they did drop back-to-back openers in Cincinnati and Monterrey during the Summer. They have turned a corner it would seem though with wins in eight of their last ten matches. That said, their last three matches have gone to super tie breaks and it finally caught them last week in Beijing.
(6)Guo-Mladenovic
The Wimbledon champs have lost their opener in two of their last three tournaments since their big achievement in London. Nothing about facing Lumsden-Panova in round one would sound the upset alert sirens, but you’d probably have said the same when they faced Chwalinska-Linette in round one at the U.S. Open.
DRAW PREVIEW
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TOP HALF
Quarter one is led by the hottest pair on the planet as Dabrowski-Stefani arrive in Wuhan on the heels of back-to-back titles with a very impressive run in Wuhan that culminated in the destruction of a quality foe in Siniakova-Zhang in the final. The top seeds have won nine straight and stand at 46-9 this season. They’ve lost just twice in their last 24 matches. They’ll earn it if they keep rolling with the potential to see Eikeri-Gleason early for the 2nd straight tournament. They’ve beaten them three times in 2026, all in straight sets. And then you’ve gpt (7)Mertens-Shnaider and Routliffe-Sutjiadi on the other side of the quarter awaiting a possible quarterfinal showdown. We’ve been waiting to see Routliffe against Dabrowski on opposite sides of the net all year, but it’s yet to happen. Mertens-Shnaider may be the scariest proposition since they pushed Dabrowski-Stefani to a super tie break in their Beijing clash (10-7). Mertens-Shnaider have been mowing down foes until they get to the top tier duos, but you get the feeling that their time is coming and it just might be this week in Wuhan. Sign me up to see any combination of Mertens-Shnaider vs Routliffe-Sutjiadi in round two and then the survivor vs Dabrowski-Stefani in the quarters. This quarter is going to have at least one absolute BANGER.
The second quarter sees two pairs battling for WTA Finals’ berths as the seeds in (4)Hsieh-Ostapenko and (5)Bucsa/Melichar-Martinez. Hsieh-Ostapenko definitely have the tougher path for me IF Muhammad-Pegula reprise the kind of form they showed last time they were in Wuhan in 2024. That’s a potential second round match. Hsieh-Ostapenko have not been stopped short of a quarterfinal this year, but also haven’t made a final in their last four tournaments. The bottom half will have Bucsa/Melichar-Martinez hoping to put themselves into the mix for a semifinal , which would go a long way towards locking up a Finals’ spots. They start with Chinese wild cards Jiang-Wang. Don’t completely rule them out as they pushed Hsieh-Ostapenko to a super tie break in their team debut last week in Beijing. The survivor gets Tang-Xu or McNally-Tjen. Tang-Xu made the Singapore final, but have generally lost to pairs like Bucsa-MM when they step up in competition. A seeded showdown in the quarters would be fascinating as Bucsa/Melichar-Martinez could pull close to Hsieh-Ostapenko with a win in that situation or potentially move ahead of them in the rankings.
TOP HALF FORECAST
There’s no doubt Dabrowski-Stefani enter the week as the pair to beat. That said, there are some quality opponents in this half and history going against them. The top seeded pair in Wuhan hasn’t won here since Chan-Hingis in 2017. That’s also just one of two times the #1 seeds in Wuhan have made the final here in eight runs of this tournament. Perhaps confidence and form don’t give a damn, but all streaks are meant to end, aren’t they? I am looking at Mertens-Shnaider and Hsieh-Ostapenko as the two seeds I like better in this half. If an unseeded pair makes some noise, I might prefer Muhammad-Pegula over Routliffe-Sujiadi who do need to prove they can beat the best. Their win over Hsieh-Ostapenko last week was a big one in that regard, but then a straight sets loss to Siniakova-Zhang brought them back down to earth. I really think this half is going to be an absolute blast to watch.
SEMIFINAL PIX: (7)Mertens-Shnaider vs (4)Hsieh-Ostapenko
BOTTOM HALF
The third quarter is home to last year’s champions (3)Hunter-Siniakova. They have paired just once this year, making the quarterfinals in Dubai way back in February. That broke a streak of two straight tournaments where they won when they entered in Indian Wells in 2024 and Wuhan last year. Overall, they have paired eight times in their careers and that Dubai result was the first time they did not make at least a semifinal. They’ve made five finals, winning three. Off the bye, they will see Aoyama-Liang or Vekic-Sakkari. Vekic-Sakkari have never won a doubles match together in eight tries. Aoyama Liang have lost three straight and six of their last nine. I don’t see either making life difficult for Hunter-Siniakova.
The other half of the quarter sees (6)Guo-Mladenovic open with Lumsden-Panova. The seeds need a win to get themselves going again. This is a good spot for it, but they’ve also lost openers in two of their three tournaments since winning Wimbledon. Survival could see them go against Perez-Schuurs in round two. They square off with Bouzkova-Sorribes Tormo in round one. Give me Perez-Schuurs in that one. They’ll be happy to be in the half opposite of Mertens-Shnaider who are responsible for knocking them out of their last two tournaments. I think it’s a toss-up if we see Guo-Mladenovic and Perez-Schuurs. The unseeded pair certainly could use the win to give themselves a better shot at the WTA Finals. Given the form of the other pairs in this quarter, you have to side with Hunter-Siniakova again as favorites to grab a spot in the last four.
The final quarter sees (2)Danilina-Zhang pairing up as Danilina might be auditioning partners for 2027 with Krunic likely to miss a good chunk of the season rehabbing from her knee injury. Danilina-Zhang have played before, but it’s been a couple years. They went 4-5 in 2024. Their early draw may afford them the chance to get a rhythm established with Eala-Sonmez or Kalinina-Yastremska in round two. Kalinina-Yastremska have the experience edge, but the results have been up and down with a 6-7 record together. That’s why I’d expect Danilina-Zhang to grab a win. The top half of the quarter is where (8)Errani-Paolini seek their first Wuhan win. This is their third trip here and so far they’ve lost an opener and had to withdrawal last year. They’ll like their draw with Lumsden-Panova up first and then either Mihalikova-Nicholls or Chan-Kato. Those two pairs would seem to pose the bigger risk to stopping the Italians short of a quarterfinal. Errani-Paolini are X-factors for me. You don’t know quite what to expect as they get going after a couple months apart. They looked pretty good in Beijing, so any improvement this week could see them contending for a final.
BOTTOM HALF FORECAST
Hunter-Siniakova will certainly be the ones to beat in this half. They’ve earned that reputation and obviously have last year’s titles to prove they know how to win here in Wuhan. The pair I’m looking at is Errani-Paolini. I like their draw and they really battled well against Dabrowski-Stefani in that 7-5, 7-6 loss in Bejing. I made it know that Mihalikova-Nicholls would be my unseeded menace to watch in this half, but they could just as easily be done in round one. They’ve lost a lot of openers lately.
SEMIFINAL PIX: (3)Hunter-Siniakova vs (8)Errani-Paolini
For the pairs battling for spots for the WTA Finals at Indian Wells, this is a massive spot to gain or lose points. It’s 1,000 points for the champs. Certainly the likes of Dabrowski-Stefani and Hunter-Siniakova, your two favorites for the week, are not in that conversation as one has a spot locked up and Siniakova is already guaranteed a place with Townsend. That doesn’t mean the effort will be any less as we saw last week in Beijing where Siniakova made another final with another different parner in Zhang. While history says the unseeded pairs will have a shot to cause some ripples, I think this draw is top heavy with the seeds looking more likely to get the job done. I’m looking at Mertens-Shnaider and Hunter-Siniakova as my two choices this week. I’d look to Muhammad-Pegula if there’s a true stunner this week.
Mertens-Shnaider
Hunter-Siniakova
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