WTA Washington Open: Zhang Shuai/Townsend claim the women's doubles title

On July 26, 2025, the WTA 500 Washington Open crowned its women's doubles champions, with the second seeds Zhang Shuai and Townsend defeating the local duo Kenin/Dolehide in just 48 minutes, 6-1/6-1. This marks Zhang's first doubles title of the season and her 15th overall; Townsend secures her 10th doubles title on the tour!

Zhang Shuai/Townsend

Last week, Zhang Shuai won the women's singles title at the ITF Nottingham W50 event, which caused her to miss the women's singles qualifying at the WTA Washington Open, leading her to compete only in doubles this week. This is the first time Zhang and Townsend have teamed up professionally, and after earning 500 ranking points and $65,403 in prize money, Zhang's doubles ranking rises to No. 12, while Townsend is set to become the new world No. 1 in women's doubles next week after her semifinal victory.

After the match, Zhang Shuai shared, "My partner and I have just won the championship in Washington, and she will become the new world No. 1 in women's doubles next Monday. I'm very happy for her. This is our first collaboration and we won the championship, which makes me extremely happy. I hope we can continue to achieve great results together."

Path to the title for Zhang Shuai/Townsend

First Round: 6-3/6-1 against Bouchard/Merichal

Quarterfinals: 6-4/3-6/10-6 against Venus Williams/Baptiste

Semifinals: 4-1 against Raducanu/Leibakina Ret.

Final: 6-1/6-1 against Kenin/Dolehide

In the women's singles semifinals, Fernandez battled third seed Leibakina for 3 hours and 12 minutes, ultimately pulling off a thrilling comeback victory at 6-7(2)/7-6(3)/7-6(3); Kalinskaya defeated former US Open champion Raducanu with a score of 6-4/6-3. Tomorrow at 2:30 AM Beijing time, Fernandez will face Kalinskaya for the women's singles title at this event.

(Written and edited by: Dato, Images: Visual China)