Team to Watch: Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara

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.

Back in 2013, Shuko Aoyama of Japan was making her first big mark on the WTA Tour, reaching the women’s doubles semifinals of Wimbledon. During that time, Ena Shibahara was tearing through the junior scene in California, and three years later, she was a US Open junior doubles champion.

In 2019, the duo teamed up for the first time in San Jose and went on to reach the final. More success followed to close out that year, setting them up for a solid 2020. Now, the tour veteran and relative newcomer will look to reach new heights in 2021.

After that initial runner-up finish, it was a month and a half before they played together again, when they reached consecutive quarterfinals in Hiroshima and Osaka. They would go on to finish 2019 as one of the hottest teams on either tour as they advanced to the semifinals in Beijing, then won back-to-back titles in Tianjin, China, and Moscow.

A solid start to 2020 saw them win their third title together in St. Petersburg, then shine in the Fed Cup qualifiers before the season went into the pandemic-forced shutdown.

In somewhat of a surprise, given their past successes, the pair only went 2-2 during the abbreviated hard-court swing when tennis resumed. Having never played together on clay, it was difficult to predict how things would go as they prepared for the French Open. As it turned out, they were naturals on the slippery surface.

Playing in Rome, the Japanese duo reached the semifinals, then followed that up with another final-four showing in Strasbourg, France. Their momentum carried over to Roland Garros, where they advanced to the quarterfinals, which was the furthest Aoyama had gotten at a major since that ’13 Wimbledon run.

In their brief time together, Shibahara and Aoyama have shown what a mix of youth and experience can produce. Look for them to continue their winning ways in the year ahead.