Veronika Kudermetova secured her first Grand Slam title by teaming up with Elise Mertens to win the women’s doubles final at Wimbledon on Sunday, rallying to beat Hsieh Su-Wei and Jelena Ostapenko 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 on Centre Court.
Kudermetova and Mertens were on opposite sides in the final in 2021 but were playing at Wimbledon together for the first time this year. They trailed 4-2 in the third set but won the last four games to seal the comeback.
It is Mertens’ fifth Grand Slam doubles title, and second at Wimbledon. In 2021, she teamed up with Hsieh to win a marathon final where they saved two match points against Kudermetova and Elena Vesnina.
“I lost that final and it was so painful,” Kudermetova said. “Today I said to myself, I really want it. And it’s mine now.”
Hsieh has won the Wimbledon doubles title four times with three different partners.
Ostapenko won the 2017 French Open singles title and was looking for a second major doubles title after winning the U.S. Open last year with Lyudmyla Kichenok.
Ivanov beats American qualifier Karki to win Wimbledon juniors title
Ivan Ivanov of Bulgaria won his first Grand Slam title by beating Ronit Karki of the United States 6-2, 6-3 in the Wimbledon juniors final on Sunday.
The 16-year-old Ivanov became the second Bulgarian to win the title after Gregor Dimitrov in 2008. He never faced a break point against Karki and finished with 22 winners, compared to six for his opponent. Karki was trying to become the first qualifier to win the title since Noah Rubin in 2014.