Indian Wells, Nov 11 (IANS) Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini became the first doubles pairing to book a place in the semifinals of the WTA Finals after overturning a one-set deficit to beat Cristina Bucsa and Nicole Melichar-Martinez in Group 2.
The eighth-seeded Italian duo recovered to register a 3-6, 6-2, 10-7 victory over their fourth-seeded opponents in an hour and 29 minutes, extending their unbeaten run in the group to two matches.
Having opened their campaign with a win over second seeds Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova, Errani and Paolini moved to the top of Group 2 and secured qualification with a match still to play. The result also marked a significant breakthrough for the Italians, who had failed to progress beyond the round-robin stage in their previous two appearances at the season-ending championships.
The victory was their second in three meetings against Bucsa and Melichar-Martinez, who will now have to fight for the remaining semifinal spot in the group.
Earlier in the day, Townsend and Siniakova kept their campaign on track with a straight-sets win over Ellen Perez and Demi Schuurs. The second seeds prevailed 7-6 (2), 6-3 in one hour and 38 minutes to register their first victory of the group stage.
The American-Czech combination has now beaten Perez and Schuurs in all three of their meetings, with each win coming in straight sets during the 2026 season.
Townsend and Siniakova are aiming to reach the semifinals for a third successive year. They finished as runners-up in 2024 before making the last four in 2025, and remain in contention for another deep run this season.
The final Group 2 encounter on Thursday will determine who joins Errani and Paolini in the knockout stage. Townsend and Siniakova, along with Bucsa and Melichar-Martinez, are both level at 1-1 and will meet in a direct contest for the second qualifying position.
Perez and Schuurs, meanwhile, have suffered defeats in both their group matches and are out of contention for a semifinal place.
–IANS
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