How a chance pairing made Townsend and Siniakova the team to beat

INDIAN WELLS – Eleven months ago, Storm Hunter ruptured her Achilles tendon, eventually leading to the formation of the world’s best doubles team.

“Do you want to tell the story?” said Taylor Townsend, turning to Katerina Siniakova on Saturday at the BNP Paribas Open.

“Well,” Siniakova said, “my partner was injured and I knew it was going to be a long time. I texted Taylor to see if she want to play some tournaments together … and she decided yes.”

It was just another example of the weirdly random events that sometimes shape the landscape of world-class doubles. They’re the same age, 28, but Siniakova and Townsend come from vastly different places. Siniakova won seven Grand Slam doubles titles with fellow Czech Barbora Krejcikova, while Townsend, a Chicago-born mother, was a junior major champion lacking a similar senior title.

And then -- without a single practice together -- they won the 2024 Wimbledon title.

“Zero -- because Kat always whips my ass in singles and I don’t want to play with her,” Townsend said, sending both women into a gale of laughter. “No. For no reason at all, it just never happened.

“The cool thing about Wimbledon was we got our chance to get to know each other. Like we literally sat down for like three hours during a rain delay and just talked in the hallway. Just laid everything out -- `this is me.’ So we really got a chance to get comfortable with each other.”

In a starkly individual sport, there’s an intriguing team dynamic at work in doubles. These two players -- Siniakova is right-handed and Townsend is a lefty -- are complimentary marvels, yin and yang, meshing together seamlessly as one.

This year, they rolled to titles at the Australian Open (their second major in three played) and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. They’re the top seeds here at Indian Wells, 29-6 as a team so far -- and 12-0 in 2025.

Their second-round win over Beatriz Haddad Maia and Laura Siegemund was a master class in perseverance. Down a set, they fought back to win the second -- at love. Down 5-1 in the match-tiebreak, they won nine of the last 11 points, which sent the jam-packed Stadium 3 crowd into hysterics.

When a reporter listed their glittering accomplishments in the cozy confines of Interview Room 2, Siniakova threw her hands up in mock alarm.

“Don’t give us pressure, come on,” she said, again prompting laughter. They’ve developed a nice rhythm as a comedy team, with Townsend doing most of the talking, setting up Siniakova for the punchlines.

“It’s really good we can talk to each other,” Siniakova said. “You play well and then you don’t play well. You feel it, and you don’t want to mess it up for the partner.”

The two were extended to a match-tiebreak in their first-rounder against Ulrikke Eikeri and Giuliana Olmos, and escaped 6-2, 4-6, [10-7]. Townsend, admittedly, did not play particularly well.

“For me, personally, I’ve always the best with people that I’m friends with, because I feel like you can be a little more vulnerable,” Townsend said. “Like today, I was like `Holy crap, I can’t make a freaking ball in the court.’

“She’s like, `You’re doing great, don’t worry about it.’ I said, `Thank you.’ So we have that certain level of comfort and freedom with each other that I feel like has helped a lot.”

Siniakova is an extraordinarily intuitive player who always seems to be in the right spot before the ball gets there. She teamed with Coco Gauff to win the French Open title, so she’s actually won three of the past four majors -- and 10 overall. She reached the third round of singles here at Indian Wells.

Townsend said she’s typical of the uber-consistent Czech players.

“There are certain shots that you guys don’t ever miss -- do you train for this from the beginning?” Townsend asked Siniakova. “And she’s like, `Yes.’ You drive anything high and in the middle of the court, they don’t miss it. Swing volleys, they don’t miss it. They all have high tennis IQs and well-rounded understanding of the game.

“For me, it’s always a learning opportunity being on the same side.”

Siniakova broke down the advantages of having players that hit from both sides, starting with volleys.

“It’s really big difference when you know the middle you can cross easily [with their forehand volleys] -- because not everyone is good cross with backhand,” Siniakova said. “Definitely I think it’s helpful you can play everything -- and I think we can do that. Our serves are totally different, so it’s a big difference for the opponents, that they need to change their position.”

Townsend prides herself on the ability to adapt her game to different partners. 

“That’s a skill,” she said. “I don’t think it’s something that can be taught. It’s just something we both have. I’m glad that we’re able to come together and use it together.”

The team qualified for the year-end WTA Finals in Riyadh, an experience they both would like to replicate.

“After having that experience,” Townsend said, “having so much fun, I was like, `I want to go back.’ That was just me, I really enjoyed it.”

Siniakova interjected, “Oh, don’t worry. I want to be back as well.”

Townsend nodded. “I know, let’s go. We’re going to keep riding and playing, see how things go.”