Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani opened their first WTA Finals campaign together with a victory. The No. 1 seeds defeated Elise Mertens and Zhang Shuai 6-3, 7-6(5) on Monday night at Indian Wells to take the early lead in Group 1.
Quick answers in both sets
Dabrowski and Stefani earned an early break in the opening set. Mertens and Zhang broke back, but the Canadian-Brazilian team applied pressure again, secured a second break and closed out the set 6-3.
In the second set, the top seeds broke in the ninth game and served for the match. Mertens and Zhang responded to force a tiebreak, but Dabrowski and Stefani controlled the closing points and won it 7-5. The official WTA video features the highlights from this match.
Individual experience, a new team debut
This is the pair's first appearance together at the season-ending event. Dabrowski is playing the WTA Finals for the eighth time and won the 2024 title alongside Erin Routliffe. Stefani is competing for a second consecutive year after reaching the 2025 final with Timea Babos.
The win adds to a season in which the partnership has collected six titles. Dabrowski and Stefani lifted trophies in Dubai, Strasbourg, Eastbourne, Sao Paulo, Beijing and Wuhan. The official standings list them at 1-0 after the opening round of Group 1.
Dabrowski and Stefani will face Guo Hanyu and Kristina Mladenovic on Wednesday. Guo and Mladenovic also won their opener, setting up a meeting between the group's two unbeaten teams.
