Top seeds Latisha Chan and Hao-Ching Chan are the Hobart International 2019 doubles champions.
The sisters, from Chinese Taipei, defeated fourth seeds Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium and Johanna Larsson of Sweden 6-3 3-6 [10-6] in an entertaining final today.
After a runner-up finish at last week’s Brisbane International, the Chan sisters are excited with their promising start to the 2019 season.
“(Winning) means a lot. I missed the bottom of the season last year, so I wasn’t playing for the past four months. We started in Brisbane last week and ended up playing in the final, then to win here means a lot to me personally,” Latisha said.
“This year we are going to play full-time together, so this is a very good start for us. It gives us confidence with all the matches we have won.”
READ: Sofia Kenin wins Hobart International singles title
It is the Chan’s 11th WTA title as a team, and their first in Hobart. Latisha’s previous best result here was a runner-up finish in 2010, while Hao-Ching was making her debut in Hobart this week.
It was Hao-Ching’s choice to play in Hobart this week, convincing their team to change from their original plans of competing at the Sydney International.
“I’ve never been to Hobart and I’ve always wanted to come here,” she said.
“I told everyone ‘I really want to go to the island’.”
“From the second we landed here she was like ‘wow, wow’,” Latisha added with a laugh.
That enjoyment showed in their results, losing only one set for the week.
“We enjoy here a lot. Not just the tennis, also off court, the food, the mountain, the animals, what we can do. It is really fun,” said Latisha.
“We really enjoyed the week that we spent here.”