MELBOURNE, Australia — Vera Zvonareva and Ena Shibahara defeated Australian favorites Talia Gibson and Kimberly Birrell Wednesday evening, and now the doubles semifinals are set. 

Here’s a closer look at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz doubles semifinalists in Melbourne Park:

Krunić, Danilina knock off defending doubles champions

Seventh-seeded pair Aleksandra Krunić and Anna Danilina knocked off the top doubles pair in the world in Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend. With a 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 win, the Slovak-Kazakh pair won 70% of their first-service points to withstand the 2025 Australian Open doubles champions. 

In their two three-set matches in Melbourne so far, Krunić-Danilina have dominated when it mattered most with third-set bagels. 

The pair most recently defeated Siniakova-Townsend in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros last year. Krunić-Danilina eventually reached the final, but fell to Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini. Their next task is Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani in the semifinals.

Dabrowski, Stefani fend off Hsieh, Ostapenko

Dabrowski and Stefani outlasted Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko 6-1, 7-6 (5) in Margaret Court Arena on Wednesday. The duo has won all their matches in straight sets in Melbourne, marking a successful start for the rekindled doubles tandem. Hsieh Su-wei and Ostapenko had come in with plenty of momentum, with a title in Brisbane a few weeks ago.

Prior to 2026, Dabrowski-Stefani most recently played together in a few tournaments in 2023, including Roland Garros, Madrid and Stuttgart, among others. Both Stefani and Dabrowski were at the WTA Finals Riyadh in November 2025, playing alongside different partners. (Stefani finished as runner-up with Timea Babos.)

On Wednesday, the pair broke their opponents four times and landed 82% of their first serves, and won 43% of their opponents’ first-service points.

Mertens, Zhang is the highest-seeded pair remaining

Elise Mertens and Zhang Shuai will face Zvonareva and Shibahara after defeating Wu Fang-Hsien and Eri Hozumi 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the semifinals.

Zhang and Mertens played together just once in 2025, at the Miami Open, in addition to a couple times in 2024. Both are top 15 players in the doubles rankings, with Mertens at No. 6 and Zhang at No. 15. In their quarterfinal win, they had five aces to their opponents’ one and finished with four pivotal breaks to get the edge. 

Zvonareva, Shibahara knock off Australian favorites

Zvonareva and Shibahara advanced to the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-7 (3), 7-5 win over Gibson and Birrell.

Zvonareva, 41, returned to tennis after a long layoff at the end of last year, and reached the final with Shibahara in Canberra earlier this month.