Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Tokyo tennis doubles gold medalists split before Olympic year

Barbora Krejcikova, Katerina Siniakova

Gold medallist Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova (L) and Gold medallist Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova pose with their medal during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games women’s doubles tennis medal ceremony at the Ariake Tennis Park in Tokyo on August 1, 2021. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP) (Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

Tokyo Olympic gold medalists Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková announced the end of their doubles partnership but didn’t rule out reuniting to defend their title in Paris next summer, according to Czech media.

Krejčíková and Siniaková, both 27, shared the news after their Czech team lost in the Billie Jean King Cup semifinals to Canada on Saturday.

In 2021, Krejčíková and Siniaková entered the Tokyo Games ranked second and third in the world, respectively, in doubles.

The top seed, they won three consecutive rounds via match tiebreak before sweeping Swiss Belinda Bencic and Viktorija Golubic in the final to claim their nation’s first Olympic tennis title.

Krejčíková and Siniaková also won seven Grand Slam singles titles together and at least one of each of the four majors. They joined Venus and Serena Williams as the lone women’s doubles teams to win the career Golden Slam.

They were Nos. 1 and 2 in the world as recently as early September, but lost in the French Open first round, missed Wimbledon due to Krejčíková's left leg injury and lost in the U.S. Open second round. They are now 10th and 13th.

Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula now have the highest combined doubles ranking of any two women from the same country, making them Olympic favorites.