AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 31, 2026

Elise Mertens

Zhang Shuai

Press Conference

MERTENS-SHUAI/Danilina-Krunic

7-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Ladies, congratulations. It's not your first Australian Open title, but it's still obviously very, very significant to you guys. What does this title mean to you?

ELISE MERTENS: I mean, of course, it means a lot. We paired up as a team very last-minute. Yeah, this was actually our first tournament together, back together.

In the second round we saved three match points, so that kind of, you know, took us to another level. Like, okay, you know, we're just going to give everything we have, give ourselves 100% every match, and I think we really grew as a team, which is really important, of course.

Of course, this is a cherry on the cake. An unbelievable two weeks.

THE MODERATOR: Any other comments, Shuai?

ZHANG SHUAI: Yeah, I mean, before Elise send the message to Robert, asking me to play two days and then her former coach, we meet in Japan in ITF tournament.

Then he said, Who you play next year? I say -- (shrugging). He said, You should play with Elise. You two play so good, because we played one time Grand Slam at Wimbledon, and we make it to the final. He said, You two, if play together, easy to win the Grand Slam many, many.

ELISE MERTENS: Listen to him (laughter).

ZHANG SHUAI: He said, If happens, send a message to me. So now I have to send a message to him.

ELISE MERTENS: Yeah, yeah.

ZHANG SHUAI: Right?

ELISE MERTENS: Yes, yes.

ZHANG SHUAI: This or second time play together at the Grand Slam. First time we make to the final, and this time we got trophy. Very special.

Then we show every team how good we are. Then we play so many great team and then so many great singles player, doubles player. We play everything.

Then they almost kick out us from the tournament. We almost go home. Then we keep energy on court positive. With 5-Love down, 7-5 first set, second round, and the 4-1 down third set and saved the three match points.

So I think we always say God has the plan. They make us stronger and stronger, and we believe we can do better and better. After Elise play singles, we play, like, so many matches.

ELISE MERTENS: Every day, yeah, yeah.

ZHANG SHUAI: Special two super-hot days.

ELISE MERTENS: I was very happy to not play yesterday because I played literally a week every day. I was, like, Whew.

ZHANG SHUAI: Yeah, we play already eight nighttime match for Elise. She gave everything, gave me everything, gave the tennis everything. I think that's the top player. That's why she's so good on anything, single and doubles.

Great person, great tennis player.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Congrats. Why do you think you're so good playing together? Because it's not always given that two great singles players are going to match up in doubles. You've been good right away together. What makes the difference?

ELISE MERTENS: I think that we adapt well to each other in a sense that we communicate well, and we are both kind of, like, fighters on court. We don't want to give any presents to the opponent.

So, yeah, I think both are kind of similar in that way that we give 100% always, if it's singles, if it's doubles, and we have that mentality. So I think that's why we, you know, work well together.

If something is wrong, then we kind of communicate, okay, what do you think I should do best? Experience, too. I think we've been to these stages before, both of us, which kind of helps.

So, yeah, I think that's why.

Q. So you talked about how in your second round you had to come back, save the match points, and you did have to do it in the first set today. I think you were down 4-1. Just talk about some of the communication changes that kind of led to that first-set comeback.

ZHANG SHUAI: I say, Oh, so much better than 5-Love down.

ELISE MERTENS: That's what she says (laughter).

ZHANG SHUAI: Now it's 4-1. Just 4-1. Okay. It's okay.

ELISE MERTENS: Okay.

ZHANG SHUAI: We did 5-Love down and then we come back. No matter, it's okay.

We know how to play finals. We know how to win the finals. That's the good experience. Also, because we are both very calm. Then we are really, I think, we try to if no working this one, we try do something else. We always adjust.

ELISE MERTENS: Problem-solving.

ZHANG SHUAI: We're not on the one way until that, until finished, until lost. That make opponents tough against us.

So when they do something good, one or two, three games, okay, we try something else. We always find.

And, also, we trust each other very much. Yeah, when Elise and Robert talk about the schedule and then she said, It's okay, we are first two week, not play same tournament. We no need to warm up. She say we don't need to warm up. I trust we can just go on court, Australia Open. We just go on court.

Then she said, I trust so much.

ELISE MERTENS: What we do, yeah.

Q. Do you have anything to add?

ELISE MERTENS: I don't think I have anything to add to that.

Q. Elise, I think you're going to head now to the top spot in the rankings in doubles. What does that mean to you to get back to that spot, especially coming off Riyadh? It's been a good couple of months for you.

ELISE MERTENS: Yeah, it's been definitely a good couple of months, especially on the Grand Slams and the WTA Finals. So, yeah, I knew if we would win the semis, that I would be No. 1 again, so that was definitely a motivation to do well.

Of course, I was, you know, not really thinking about the spot. I was thinking about this trophy in the first place, of course, but yeah, it does mean a lot. I mean, it's something to do well in singles and doubles, but to be No. 1 in something, it's amazing.

I think it's the hard work that we do, the energy that we put in, and if it's rewarding, that's of course very beautiful.

ZHANG SHUAI: A lot of player No. 1, but they don't have the Grand Slam trophy, but this more important first. Then if add No. 1, that's the --

ELISE MERTENS: First the trophies, then the ranking.

ZHANG SHUAI: Yeah, perfect, perfect.

Q. You spoke about it a little bit in the ceremony, but how does it feel to win, one, with your former partner, Sam Stosur, in attendance, but also 20 years on from your countrywomen beating I think Stosur in 2006.

ZHANG SHUAI: Yeah, you know, two-time Grand Slam, I played with Sam. We won Australia, we won US Open, and also Rennae Stubbs was on court.

Every time when I saw them, I can feel they give me energy, like Elise. So now we feel like not only we two on court. We feel like more energy, three, four. Then we team, coach, we have, like, big team.

That make us more stronger and then more, like, you know, from your mind, you trust yourself, you trust your team. That's more important. So that's why we never up-down. We only like this, going up.

ELISE MERTENS: We try.

ZHANG SHUAI: Right?

ELISE MERTENS: Yeah.

Q. Just curious if you already know if you are going to play the whole season together, because it is a bit like Siniakova. You have a particularity of changing and keep winning despite whoever you are playing with. Have you already planned? Is it the same? Does it make it tougher for you both to decide already, okay, we are signing for the whole year, you're playing for the career slam maybe?

ELISE MERTENS: That's the plan for the moment, of course. The result was here this week, so yeah, we feel confident to play with each other. We were confident. We trust each other.

So the answer is, yes, our next tournament will be Doha and Dubai together, yeah.

Q. We talk a lot about career slam.

ELISE MERTENS: We talk about it all the time, every year (smiling).

Q. It's coming back to you.

ELISE MERTENS: It's coming back. Of course, we're going to try. That's for sure. As we said, we give ourselves 100% always on court.

If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't happen, my career doesn't depend on it, I would say.