Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/623806
14 ITFWORLD WINTER 2015 M ARTINA HINGIS and SANIA MIRZA are a new women's doubles combination to be named ITF World Champions, after winning two Grand Slam titles and seven further tournaments in 2015. It was quite a result for a team which didn't form until March, and represents an impressive personal achievement for both players. Mirza is the first Indian woman, and only second Asian woman (after Ai Sugiyama) to receive the honour; the 35-year- old Hingis, meanwhile, was first named ITF Doubles World Champion alongside Anna Kournikova 16 years ago, and was also World Champion in singles three times in 1997, 1999 and 2000. Hingis and Mirza roared into contention in their first tournament together at Indian Wells, winning the title without dropping a set. They repeated their success in Miami, defeating Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina again in the final, and extended their winning streak to 14 matches by claiming the title on the switch to clay at Charleston. Their form dipped on European clay courts, although they still reached the Rome final and the quarterfinals at Roland Garros, where they lost to eventual champions Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova, who remained their closest rivals all season. The Swiss-Indian pair's first taste of Grand Slam glory came at Wimbledon, where, having advanced to the final without losing a set, they survived a tough battle with Makarova and Vesnina to emerge 57 76 75 victors. They were champions again at the US Open, this time in somewhat easier fashion, beating Casey Dellacqua and Yaroslava Shvedova 63 63 to lift their second Grand Slam trophy together. Their confidence now sky-high, Hingis and Mirza were unbeaten for the rest of 2015, and won their last 22 matches from the start of the US Open through wins on Asian soil at Guangzhou, Wuhan and Beijing. They had secured the WTA year-end No. 1 doubles ranking before the start of the WTA Finals, where they swept to their ninth title of the season without dropping a set, ending the year with a 55-7 record. ITF WORLD CHAMPIONS