The Australian Open women’s doubles final is set, with No. 4 seeds Elise Mertens and Zhang Shuai facing No. 7 seeds Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic.

Australian Open: Scores | Draws | Order of play

Mertens and Zhang, runners-up at Wimbledon in 2022, raced through their semifinal, defeating Ena Shibahara and Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2 in 1 hour and 21 minutes on Margaret Court Arena to reach their second Grand Slam final as a team.

“Really great performance,” Mertens said after the match. “I think we’re really there as a team. Communication was there, and I felt like today everything kind of worked. But you know, it’s been a great tournament so far, so tomorrow (we’ll) have a day off or a day of practice and then on to the finals.”

Earlier Thursday evening, Danilina and Krunic outlasted the new pairing of Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena, winning in nearly two and a half hours to advance to their second Major final together. They were runners-up at the French Open last year.

The marathon victory followed their upset of No. 1 seeds and defending champions Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend in the previous round.

“I feel like this match had everything in it,” Krunic said in their on-court interview. “(So many) ups and downs. Luisa and Gaby, they played a great match. It’s always tough to play against them, and I mean, obviously it was emotional. We just tried to hang in there, especially being a break down in the third, and it worked out for us well.”

The road from match points down to the final

Mertens and Zhang saved three match points in their second-round win over Iva Jovic and Victoria Mboko.

“We kind of were fighting, at that point, to stay in the tournament, and now we’re in the final,” Mertens said. “So you know, anything can happen when you keep on fighting.”

Their path didn’t get much easier from there. They rallied from a set down in the quarterfinals to reach the semis, where they were finally rewarded with a more routine victory.

After Shibahara and Zvonareva held for 1-1 in the opening set, Mertens and Zhang reeled off four straight games for a 5-1 lead, where they held set point. They tensed up slightly, dropping serve as the lead shrank to 5-3, but held at love to close out the set. The second set followed a similar pattern, as the No. 4 seeds surged ahead 5-0, were broken while serving for the match, before quickly regaining their composure.

Zhang took control late, setting up and converting their third match point to book their place in the final.

“This is our second time playing together at a Grand Slam and (now) second final,” Zhang said with a smile. “Oh my God, we should keep playing (together) forever.”

Danilina and Krunic dig out of third-set hole to advance

Danilina and Krunic raced to a 5-2 lead in the opening set, lost it, then regrouped in time to take the tiebreak. Dabrowski and Stefani responded in the second set, as the sides traded holds to 3-3 before the topsy-turvy pattern of the match continued, with the Canadian-Brazilian duo winning the final three games to force a decider.

They carried that momentum into the third, breaking and consolidating for a 2-0 lead. But shortly after a brief delay to close the roof due to rain, Danilina and Krunic broke back, leveling the set at 3-3.

The No. 7 seeds earned another break for 5-3 but were immediately broken while serving for the match. They answered in fitting fashion with a break to love, sealing the win with a remarkable rally.

“They were confusing me from the first point,” Krunic said. “I tried to think about my own game; what I’m supposed to do, what comes from my racket, but they’re a very energetic team. They move well at the net, and they know how to play doubles.

“Today was a very different match for us, and I’m happy that at the very end we found that extra energy to be in Saturday’s final.”

Credentials check

There isn’t much past history to draw from when dissecting this matchup, but all four players bring significant doubles success to the final:

Danilina: Career-high No. 8; 2023 US Open mixed doubles champion; 2022 Australian Open and 2025 French Open runner-up; 2024 Wuhan Open champion; 11 WTA titles

Krunic: Career-high No. 17; 2025 French Open runner-up; eight WTA titles

Mertens: Former World No. 1; five-time Grand Slam champion; 2022 and 2025 WTA Finals champion; seven WTA 1000 titles; 23 WTA titles

Zhang: Career-high No. 2; 2019 Australian Open champion; 2021 US Open champion; 2021 Cincinnati Open champion; 16 WTA titles

Both pairs enter Saturday’s final one win away from their first Major title together, a breakthrough that would cement their rapidly growing résumés.