Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic have won the WTA Doubles Team of the Year, taking 44% of the vote, which was decided by the media.
The award caps a very successful year for the Hungarian-French pairing, who performed consistently well in the major events, winning at Roland Garros, reaching the final of the Australian Open and going deep at both Wimbledon and the US Open.
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Additionally, they lifted the doubles title at the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen, coming out on top against Barbora Strycova and Hsieh Su-wei, 6-1, 6-3. They went undefeated in Shenzhen, showing remarkable resolve as they three times won decisive tiebreaks, including in a thriller against Samantha Stosur and Zhang Shuai in the semifinals.
It was the first time in 11 years that any pair had successfully defended the title.
Mladenovic, therefore, enjoys a year-end ranking of WTA World No.2 in doubles, having reached top spot for the first time in her career on June 10, while Babos comes in at one place and just 35 points behind her.
The Frenchwoman, particularly, is going through a purple patch of form after a tricky 2018, as she played a major role as the French team overcame Australia to win the Fed Cup. Mladenovic defeated Ajla Tomljanovic and WTA World No.1 Ashleigh Barty in singles then fittingly capped her season by partnering Caroline Garcia to overcome the combination of Barty and Stosur, 6-4, 6-3, in doubles.
Competition for this award was stern, with US Open champions Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka among the other nominees, who also included Wimbledon winners Strycova and Hsieh as well as Zhang and Stosur, who took the Australian Open title, having defeated Babos and Mladenovic in the final.
