Tokyo tennis doubles gold medalists split before Olympic year

Tokyo Olympic gold medalists Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková have decided to part ways in their doubles partnership, with the possibility of reuniting to defend their title in Paris next summer, as reported by Czech media.

Krejčíková and Siniaková, both 27, shared the news following their Czech team’s loss 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.

As the top seed, they secured 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 amassed seven Grand Slam singles titles together, winning at least one of each of the four majors. They joined Venus and Serena Williams as the only women’s doubles teams to achieve the career Golden Slam.

Although they were ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the world as recently as early September, they suffered a first-round loss in the French Open, missed Wimbledon due to Krejčíková’s left leg injury, and were eliminated in the U.S. Open second round. They are now positioned at 10th and 13th in the rankings.

Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula currently hold the highest combined doubles ranking of any two women from the same country, making them the favorites in the Olympics.