Team to Watch: Latisha Chan and Hao-Ching Chan

There will be plenty of big names returning to the tour in 2021 and young players making their moves after an abbreviated 2020, but doubles will also take center stage. Baseline is taking a look at which teams to watch in the new year.

Given the logistics of travel and overall health concerns in the midst of a global pandemic, a return to tennis after the shutdown wasn’t in the cards for everyone. Case in point: Latisha and Hao-Ching Chan, the sisters from Chinese Taipei who ended up staying close to home after their season came to a premature end.

One of the WTA’s elite teams, the Chans kept busy in a number of ways. Latisha, a former world No. 1, saw her first book, “You’re All You Need,” get released.

Hao-Ching took up swimming, among other pursuits, that aren’t easy to focus on during a full season.

If there was any silver lining to come out of an abbreviated season, it was the opportunity to recharge the batteries. Having done so, the sisters are getting ready for the 2021 WTA season, surely with some major goals in mind.

Over the past several years, Latisha and Hao-Ching Chan have played with a number of different partners: Most notably, Latisha teamed up with Martina Hingis in 2017 and that duo went on to finish the season on top of the world rankings. When the Chan sisters reunited on a full-time basis in 2019, they knew almost immediate success with two titles out of three finals in the first two months of the year. They added two more victories in the second half of the year and qualified for the WTA Finals.

(Getty Images)

While the Chans were a consistent force on the regular tour, Grand Slam success eluded them, with their best finish a quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open. They went a step further in Melbourne in 2020 with a run to the semifinals. However, the opportunity to improve upon their major record together was denied as they shut down their campaign early.

Both of them have played for Grand Slam championships in the past with other partners. Now, the goal will be to put themselves in position to do so together.