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Australian Open Women's Doubles Players

Winners Cara Black (L) of Zimbabwe and her partner Liezel Huber (2nd L) of South Africa pose with runners up Chuang Chia-Jung (R) and Chan Yung-Jan (2nd R) following the women's doubles final at the Australian Open tennis tournament The very best Australian Open women's doubles players will take to the Rod Laver and Vodafone arenas in early January 2008.

Defending champions, Cara Black of Zimbabwe, and Liezel Huber of South Africa, will have a formidable task ahead of them as the 'sleeping dragon' of Chinese-Taipei tennis has awakened with a vengeance in the past two years.

Taiwan's young combatants of Yung-Jan Chung and Chia-Jung Chiang were relatively easy to subdue in 3 sets in the 2007 final, but the 2006 Australian Open women's doubles title was a very different story.

The Chinese-Taipei duo of Yan Zie and Zheng Jie, had to fight all the way, and came from behind to defeat the number one seeds of Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur in three sets.

The Eastern Europeans have also proved their mettle with Russians, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Likhovtseva forming a competitive doubles pairing. In 2004 the Russian duo was runners-up to the women's doubles title when they were well beaten by Spaniard Pascual and her Argentine partner, Suarez.

Kuznetsova has had more success without Likhovtseva, and has been ranked as high as third in the world in June 2004. She teamed up with Australia's Alicia Molik to take the 2005 Australian Open, defeating Americans, Lindsay Davenport and Corina Morariu.

Not only do the current holders of the doubles title have to worry about the up and coming players from the east, but they best be aware of the resurgence of the Williams sisters in the doubles format.

When the chips are down, Venus and Serena Williams look to be the pick of the Australian Open women's doubles players for 2008, barring ill health or injury. The sisters, who are champion singles players as well, have been ranked as high as number five in the doubles. Venus has taken six women's doubles titles in her on-going career and Serena walked away with the Olympic Gold for doubles in tennis in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

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