In the intense second-round doubles match at the 2025 Australian Open, Chinese player Guo Hanyu and her Russian partner Panova staged an exciting comeback. They defeated Pera/Santamaria with a score of 5-7/7-6(1)/7-5, achieving a remarkable 2-1 victory and advancing to the round of 16, while also securing their precious sixth consecutive win.
Guo Hanyu, ranked 496th in singles, has shown extraordinary strength in doubles, currently ranking 30th. Throughout her career, she has won four tour titles. Looking back on her journey, during last year's Australian season, Guo Hanyu partnered with Jiang Xinwei, successfully reaching the final after overcoming obstacles in Hobart. At the Australian Open, they also made it to the round of 16. Recently, at the Adelaide 500 tournament, Guo Hanyu teamed up with Panova to defeat seeded players consecutively, ultimately lifting the championship trophy. In the first round of the Australian Open, Guo Hanyu and Panova eliminated the local pair Cabrera/Preston in straight sets with scores of 6-4 and 7-6.
In the first set, both sides broke each other's serve in the 4th and 5th games, followed by another exchange of breaks in the 7th and 8th games. In the crucial 11th game, the opponents seized the opportunity to break serve, leading 6-5 and eventually taking the first set 7-5.
In the second set, the Guo Hanyu team faced another break in the 3rd game, but they did not lose heart. In the 8th game, Guo Hanyu/Panova successfully broke back. In the following two games, both sides broke each other again, with Guo Hanyu's team breaking the opponent's serve to win the set in the 10th game, leveling the score to 5-5. After a 6-6 draw, they entered the tiebreak. In the tiebreak, Guo Hanyu's team quickly took the lead, starting with a 2-0 advantage and ultimately winning the tiebreak 7-1, thus winning the second set 7-6 and dragging the match into a decisive set.
At the start of the decisive set, Guo Hanyu's team suffered a break, trailing 0-2. However, they quickly broke back in the 3rd game, changing the score to 1-2. The two sides then became entangled. In the key 11th game, Guo Hanyu's team successfully broke serve, overtaking 6-5. In the 12th game, facing the opponent's break point, they successfully defused the crisis and finally converted their fourth match point, sealing the victory with a 7-5 score.
Throughout the match, Guo Hanyu/Panova had a first-serve percentage of 68% and a first-serve winning rate of 63%, earning a total of 11 break points and successfully converting 6 of them. The match lasted nearly 3 hours, and Guo Hanyu/Panova ultimately advanced. With this victory, they earned 240 points and a prize of 82,000 Australian dollars. In the championship rankings, Guo Hanyu/Panova are temporarily ranked first. Guo Hanyu's immediate ranking also rose one place to 29th.
This is the second consecutive year that Guo Hanyu has advanced to the round of 16 in the Australian Open women's doubles. We look forward to her continuing to bring us wonderful performances in subsequent matches and launching an assault towards even higher honors!