Luisa Stefani reached runner-up in the WTA Doubles Finals, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this Saturday (8). The São Paulo native, alongside Hungarian Timea Babos, lost the final to Belgian Elise Mertens and Russian Veronika Kudermetova by 2 sets to 0, with scores of 7/6 (4) and 6/1. The result marks the best campaign by a Brazilian in the history of the tournament, which brings together the eight best pairs of the season.
The match started evenly, with the first set decided in a tie-break. Stefani and Babos pressed, but errors in the returns allowed their opponents to close at 7-4. In the second set, Mertens and Kudermetova dominated with an early break and maintained the advantage until the end.
This unprecedented achievement for Brazilian women’s tennis highlights the progress of Stefani, 28, in her first participation in the event.
- Three WTA 500 titles: Linz (Austria), Tokyo (Japan) and Strasbourg (France).
- A WTA 250 title: SP Open, in São Paulo.
- Runner-up in Ningbo (China), guaranteeing a place in the Finals.
- Fifth final for the duo in 2025, with 70% victory on indoor courts.
Group stage trajectory
The duo Stefani and Babos were part of the Liezel Huber Group. They debuted with defeat to the Czech Katerina Siniakova and the American Taylor Townsend, second best in the ranking.
Then, the Russians Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider beat 2 sets to 1. The game lasted 1h50, with a turnaround in the super tie-break.
Finally, they overcame the current champions, Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealander Erin Routliffe, by 2/6, 7/5 and 10-5, securing classification.
Road to the semi-final
Stefani and Babos advanced consistently in the quarterfinals. They faced experienced opponents and stayed focused on the decisive points.
The semi-final came against Taiwanese Su-Wei Hsieh and Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, seeded number 6. The first set had an early break, but the reaction came with aggressive returns.
In the second set, they came from 2/4 to win the tie-break 7/6 (5), in 1h44 of play. Babos highlighted the mental strength of the partnership in a post-game interview.
Details of the final in Riyadh
Riyadh’s central court saw a crowd excited for the decision. Mertens and Kudermetova, fourth seeds, saved match point in the semi against Siniakova and Townsend.
Stefani went to the net frequently, but the Belgian Mertens was precise on the serve. Russian Kudermetova contributed 12 winners in total.
The score of 6/1 in the second set reflects the break in the third game, followed by solid gamesof the winners. The match lasted 1h20.
Babos, in his sixth appearance, was looking for his fourth Finals title. She won in 2017, 2018 and 2019 with another partner.
Consolidated partnership in 2025
The duo formed at the beginning of the year, after Stefani recovered from a knee injury in 2024. They played 18 tournaments together.
The team produced 4 trophies in 6 finals. In Grand Slams, they reached eighths at Roland Garros and fourths at Wimbledon and US Open.
Stefani was also runner-up in Wimbledon mixed doubles with Joe Salisbury. The partnership prioritized high-level events for the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
Brazilian history at the Finals
In the men’s category, Gustavo Kuerten won the ATP Finals in 2000, reaching the top of the rankings. Marcelo Melo was vice-president in 2014 and 2017.
For women, Bia Haddad Maia participated in 2022 with Anna Danilina, but fell in the group stage. Stefani breaks her fast with this final.
The bronze medal in Paris 2024, with Laura Pigossi, was the first Olympic podium for Brazilian tennis. Stefani has 13 titles in her career.
With the runner-up, Stefani rises to 14th in the ranking, and Babos to 13th. They add 800 extra points, closing 2025 in the top 15.
