Zhang Shuai announced her partner for next year's Australian Open doubles and was praised again for her great popularity; netizens say her partner has a significant background.

Zhang Shuai indeed deserves her title as a tireless athlete in tennis, as she keeps competing non-stop and has accelerated her personal media updates, appearing to resonate with fans and followers who are eager to stay updated on her current status.

After winning the tournament in Yokohama, Japan, Zhang Shuai’s heartfelt essay went viral because she turned her hardships into motivation; the overflowing positive energy during her efforts was called “a woman’s epic,” deeply moving everyone.

Especially her phrase “If you don’t work hard today, you’ll have to work hard to find a job tomorrow” perfectly captured the soft spot in many workers’ hearts, naturally triggering widespread empathy.

While preparing for the Limoges 125 tournament, Zhang Shuai once again shared something of public interest on her social media: her doubles partner for the Australian Open next year!

Upon this announcement, people’s immediate reaction was not just about Zhang Shuai continuing her hardworking streak, but more about her doubles partner’s impressive credentials, which also highlights how well-connected Zhang Shuai is in the tennis community, with friends everywhere.

Zhang Shuai’s doubles partner for the Australian Open next year is none other than the well-known Mertens!

Netizens exclaimed that Zhang Shuai’s partner for next year’s Australian Open has quite a background, mainly because Mertens is no ordinary player; the Belgian star is one of the few in tennis with strong achievements in both singles and doubles.

In singles, she holds nine tour titles and reached a career-high ranking of 12 in 2018; her doubles record is even more impressive. Besides being world No. 1 in doubles in 2021, Mertens has won 13 doubles titles, all highly prestigious events, including five Grand Slam doubles titles and a year-end championships doubles title.

Looking at Mertens’ outstanding resume, no one can doubt her significant stature. Now that Zhang Shuai officially announced teaming up with this Belgian star for the Australian Open doubles, fans are eagerly anticipating the kind of chemistry they will create.

In fact, this Belgian star and Zhang Shuai are old acquaintances, having paired up multiple times in doubles with solid results.

For example, in 2022, Zhang Shuai and Mertens teamed up at Wimbledon and Birmingham; although they didn’t win the titles, finishing as runners-up twice is still a strong achievement.

Also, in the 2025 season, they briefly partnered at the Miami 1000 tournament, reaching the quarterfinals.

People are somewhat surprised that Zhang Shuai managed to secure Mertens as her partner for next year’s Australian Open doubles, partly because players like the Belgian star usually choose partners of similar ranking to maximize chances of success.

Currently, Mertens is ranked fifth in doubles while Zhang Shuai is sixteenth; logically, Mertens has many options but specifically chose Zhang Shuai, proving that Zhang’s reputation within the circle is indeed excellent.

Otherwise, as one netizen pointed out, considering Mertens has previously partnered with Hsieh Su-wei and Kudermetova—winning multiple major titles including Grand Slams—she could have continued with either of them. Especially since she recently won the doubles title at the Riyadh year-end championships with Kudermetova, which might have been a reason to decline Zhang Shuai. Yet, she chose to be Zhang’s doubles partner, showing that friendship likely played a crucial role.

Of course, some also say Zhang Shuai’s doubles partners are never ordinary players; not only Mertens for the Australian Open but also Samsonova, her warm-up partner before the tournament, is a strong competitor. “This is the benefit of having many friends—you never lack reliable partners.”

Regarding Zhang Shuai selecting Mertens as her doubles partner for the Australian Open next year, many fans and netizens expressed high expectations for “Shuai Hua’s” performance in 2026, with some humorously saying, “Shuai Jie is making a big move; everyone should be ready to catch a big surprise!”(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Moon River’s Starry Sky)