Errani, Paolini and Bucsa, Melichar-Martinez make winning starts at FAGE WTA Finals
Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini and the team of Cristina Bucsa and Nicole Melichar-Martinez opened their FAGE WTA Finals campaigns in Indian Wells with victories in their first Group 2 matches Sunday.
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Errani and Paolini recorded their first career win over second seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend while Bucsa and Melichar-Martinez made a winning debut as a team at the WTA Finals with a straight-set victory over Ellen Perez and Demi Schuurs.
Errani, Paolini rally past second seeds
Siniakova and Townsend, who had won both previous meetings between the teams in straight sets -- in the Indian Wells semifinals and Miami final -- started strongly, breaking serve early to build a 3-1 lead against their Italian opponents. They held on to that advantage to claim the opening set 6-4.
Errani and Paolini, seeking to reach their first semifinal as a team at the WTA Finals in their third consecutive appearance at the season-ending event, bounced back to take the second set 6-1.
The Italians then edged their opponents in the match tiebreak to complete a 4-6, 6-1, 10-8 victory in 1 hour, 32 minutes.
FLYING start 👏 Sara Errani & Jasmine Paolini come out on top in a tight deciding tiebreak! They defeat Siniakova/Townsend 4-6, 6-1, 10-8 to claim an opening victory. #FAGEWTAFinals | #TheUltimateStage https://t.co/Yl8dxLFTe5
— wta (@WTA) November 9, 2026
Errani and Paolini were the eighth and final team to qualify for the WTA Finals after winning their first title of the season in Tokyo earlier this month. Their other highlights this year include a runner-up finish at the WTA 1000 event in Miami and semifinal appearances at WTA 1000 tournaments in Doha, Indian Wells and Wuhan.
Siniakova and Townsend are competing together at the WTA Finals for the third consecutive year and are seeking to advance beyond the group stage for the third straight time. They reached the final in 2024 and the semifinals last year.
The pair have enjoyed a successful 2026 season, winning titles at the US Open, Roland Garros, Madrid, Miami and Indian Wells.
Bucsa, Melichar-Martinez make winning start
In the final match of the day, Bucsa and Melichar-Martinez dominated the opening set against Perez and Schuurs, winning it 6-0.
Perez and Schuurs responded by taking an early break in the second to build a 4-1 lead. However, Bucsa and Melichar-Martinez reeled off five consecutive games to complete a 6-0, 6-4 victory in 1 hour, 10 minutes.
Off the mark 👊 Cristina Bucsa & Nicole Melichar-Martinez secure an opening match win against Perez/Schuurs 6-0, 6-4 in Group 2! #FAGEWTAFinals | #TheUltimateStage https://t.co/myYK0Plb5S
— wta (@WTA) November 9, 2026
The win avenged Bucsa and Melichar-Martinez's loss to Perez and Schuurs in the round of 16 at the China Open last month.
Bucsa is making her first career appearance at the WTA Finals, while Melichar-Martinez is competing at the season-ending event for the fifth time. Her best result came in 2023, when she reached the final.
The duo won the doubles title in Guadalajara earlier this year and reached the finals in Ningbo and Rome. Their best Grand Slam result of the season came at the US Open, where they advanced to the quarterfinals.
Perez and Schuurs began playing together at the start of the season but have ight previous appearances between them at the WTA Finals.
Perez is making her third appearance at the season-ending event, having reached the final in 2023. Schuurs is competing at the WTA Finals for the seventh time with her sixth different partner. She has reached the semifinals on three occasions -- in 2019, 2021 and 2022.
