Indian Wells, Nov 15 (IANS) Italy’s Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini will take on second seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend in the doubles final of the WTA Finals after both pairs advanced from their semifinals in straight sets on Saturday.
Errani and Paolini booked their maiden appearance in the season-ending tournament’s championship match by overcoming third seeds Hanyu Guo and Kristina Mladenovic 6-3, 6-4. The Italians, who entered the eight-team field as the final qualifiers, have carried their momentum into the knockout stage, remaining unbeaten after winning all three group matches.
The victory also gave them an opportunity to settle an earlier score, having lost to Guo and Mladenovic in the quarterfinals of the Indian Wells WTA 1000 tournament earlier this season. Their latest win marked a significant step forward for the Italian combination, who are appearing at the WTA Finals for the third consecutive year but have never previously reached the title match together.
Siniakova and Townsend, meanwhile, secured their place in Sunday’s final with a 7-6(4), 6-3 win over top seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani. The opening set went without a service break before the second seeds edged the tiebreak and then took control in the following set to complete the victory in one hour and 40 minutes.
The Czech-American pairing has now beaten Dabrowski and Stefani in all three of their meetings this season. They will enter the final seeking a sixth title of the year, having already lifted trophies at Roland Garros, the US Open, Madrid, Miami and Indian Wells.
Sunday’s contest will be the fourth meeting between the two finalist teams in 2025. Siniakova and Townsend lead the season series 2-1, although Errani and Paolini won their group-stage encounter at this tournament in a match tiebreak. The second seeds had also beaten the Italians in the finals at Indian Wells and Miami earlier in the year.
For Siniakova, it will be an opportunity to add a second WTA Finals doubles crown to the one she won with Barbora Krejcikova in 2021. Townsend is chasing her first title at the event, having finished runner-up with Siniakova in 2024.
Errani and Paolini, who won the Tokyo title and finished as runners-up in Miami this season, will aim to cap their campaign with their first WTA Finals title.
–IANS
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