Clad in tennis-ball yellow, Zhang Shuai offered another reminder of her love for the sport.

Zhang returned to Rod Laver Arena on Saturday for the women's doubles final at the 2026 Australian Open and left an hour and 48 minutes later with another Grand Slam title.

Teamed with Belgium's Elise Mertens, Zhang defeated Anna Danilina of Kazakhstan and Serbia's Aleksandra Krunic 7-6 (4), 6-4.

The victory was Zhang's third women's doubles Grand Slam title, following triumphs at the 2019 Australian Open and the 2021 US Open, both alongside Australia's Samantha Stosur, who presented Zhang and Mertens with their trophy after Saturday's triumph.

Zhang, who turned 37 earlier this month, and Mertens, 30 arrived in Melbourne confident in their chemistry, despite only pairing up at the last minute. That confidence was clearly not misplaced, with the fledgling partnership paying valuable dividends almost immediately.

"We adapt well to each other in the sense that we communicate well, and that we are both fighters on court. We don't want to give any gifts to the opponent," Mertens said in the post-match news conference.

"We are fighters with brains," Zhang added.

"Everyone who makes it to the Grand Slam is a fighter, but we play with wit and grit."

Their resilience showed in the second round, when they saved three match points against North American duo Iva Jovic of the United States and Canada's Victoria Mboko. That escape, Mertens said, lifted them "to the next level".

"We won't collapse no matter what," Zhang said.

"We always focus on the current point, almost forgetting what happened beforehand."

For Zhang, the title capped a revival, following an 18-month drought in singles victories from January 2023 to mid-2024.

She steadied her form with a strong run at the 2024 China Open, beating McCartney Kessler of the US in straight sets.

She has rebounded before. On the brink of retirement ahead of the 2016 Australian Open, after 14 straight first-round Grand Slam losses, Zhang stunned then-world No 2 Simona Halep in the opening round and rode that momentum to the quarterfinals.

Zhang said she agreed with Novak Djokovic that belief is crucial to sustaining elite performance later in a career.

Djokovic, also in his late 30s, reached the men's final after a four-hour, nine-minute semifinal victory over world No 2 Jannik Sinner.

Although more familiar with Djokovic's era, Zhang said the new generation, including Sinner,"always brings something new" to the sport.

Despite the Aussie Open title win, Zhang said she has no immediate plans to extend the partnership with Mertens.

"We still have dreams, but I'm not the kind of person who will broadcast to the world what my goals are," Zhang said.

"I'd rather win the trophy and then tell you, 'look, this is my dream,'" she added, gesturing toward the Daphne Akhurst Cup, which will once again bear her name.

Xinhua