Krawczyk, Melichar-Martinez qualify for WTA Finals in Guadalajara

Desirae Krawczyk and Nicole Melichar-Martinez will feature with their respective partners—Chile's Alexa Gauarachi and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands—in the WTA season-ending Akron WTA Finals in Guadalajara, Mexico this week.

Melichar-Martinez is competing at the WTA Finals for the second time in her career, having been eliminated in the quarterfinals alongside Kveta Peschke in 2018, while Krawczyk is making her debut.  The pair have been drawn in opposite round-robin groups, as the doubles compeition also features eight teams divided into two groups like the corresponding singles event.

Melichar-Martinez and Schuurs are seeded No. 4 and are joined in the Tenochtitlán Group by Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara (No. 2), Samantha Stosur and Zhang Shuai (No. 5) and Darija Jurak and Andreja Klepac (No. 7), while Krawczyk and Guarachi are the No. 6 seeds and join Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova (No. 1), Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens (No. 3) and Giuliana Olmos and Sharon Fichman (No. 8) in the El Tajín Group. 

Making their debut as a full-time pair this year after winning in Strasbourg last September, Melichar-Martinez and Schuurs reached four finals together this year, winning in Doha and Charleston. They also reached the semifinals at the Australian Open, and the quarterfinals in both Dubai and Cincinnati. Krawczyk reached four women's doubles finals as an individual this year—to go along with a staggering three Grand Slams won in mixed doubles—partnering Guarachi to win two titles in Adelaide and Strasbourg. The pair also reached the semifinals of the US Open, losing to eventual champions Stosur and Zhang.

Read more: Student of the game Melichar ready for new challenges in 2021

After three round-robin matches, the two teams with the best records will advance out of the groups and into the semifinals for an opportunity to play for the Martina Navratilova trophy. The showpiece prize was named for the legendary champion in 2014, while the singles trophy was named for Billie Jean King. An American last won the WTA Finals in doubles in 2011, when Lisa Raymond and Liezel Huber raised the trophy.