Taiwan’s Chan Yung-jan and Martina Hingis of Switzerland were named Oct. 20 Doubles Team of the Year by the Women’s Tennis Association after winning nine titles in 2017.
Chan, the first Taiwan athlete to earn the award, and her teammate have been peerless since partnering up for the first time at the Qatar Open in February. “Chan and Hingis have been dominant all season long, and it’s shown in how many times they’ve won back-to-back titles,” the WTA said.
The pair’s biggest success came in September at the U.S. Open when they claimed their first Grand Slam as a duo. This victory made Chan the first Taiwan athlete to win one of tennis’s signature events.
They also claimed the BNP Paribas Open in California, Mutua Madrid Open, Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, Mallorca Open, Aegon International Eastbourne, Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open and China Open in Beijing.
In addition to their tour victories, Chan and Hingis have advanced to at least the quarterfinals of every other tournament they have contested. They have also won every final in which they have competed.
Sharing news of the award on her Facebook page, Chan called it a proud moment for her team, and thanked her partner and fans for their support. In a recent WTA interview, she explained that she and Hingis were able to click so quickly due to their similar playing styles and shared interests off the court.
Following their dominant season, Chan and Hingis are tied with each other for top spot on the WTA women’s doubles rankings. The duo was also the first team to qualify for the Oct. 22-29 WTA Finals in Singapore, an end-of-season tournament for the season’s best players and the most prestigious event on the tour excluding the Grand Slams. (KWS-E)
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