Siniakova’s place among the greats feels both surreal and earned
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- A year ago, Katerina Siniakova finished as the year-end No. 1 doubles player for the fourth time.
“Suddenly, they were talking about the only one that did it five times was Martina [Navratilova],” Siniakova said Wednesday evening. “So from that moment, I was like, `Oh, I’m so close.’
“I’m just super happy and glad it happened this year. It’s a privilege to be on the same page as Martina.”
Next week will be Siniakova’s 169th week at No. 1, third behind only Navratilova (237) and Liezel Huber (199).
Indeed, the 29-year-old from the Czech Republic shares the record with one of her idols, who was born in what was once known as Czechoslovakia. Siniakova was honored in a ceremony and hoisted the trophy -- the Martina Navratilova Trophy.
On Tuesday, No. 1 seeds Siniakova and Taylor Townsend defeated defending champions and No. 3 seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe 6-4, 7-6 (3). That made them the Liezel Huber Group winners.
“We stuck to our plan and played together very, very well,” Townsend said afterward. “No gaps. Even when we were down, we stayed together kept the good energy … we just kept working the plan -- and it worked.”
They play their third round-robin match on Thursday against Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider, who have already been eliminated. A semifinal match awaits on Friday.
Among the 24 players who qualified for Riyadh, Siniakova has won the most Grand Slam titles -- a total of 11.
She won seven (two each at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon and one at the US Open) with longtime partner and fellow Czech Barbora Krejcikova. After they parted in 2023, Siniakova teamed with Coco Gauff to win 2024 Roland Garros.
Playing in only their third tournament together, Townsend and Siniakova won Wimbledon and, in their seventh, the 2025 Australian Open. Siniakova also paired with Sem Verbeek to win the mixed doubles crown this year at Wimbledon.
Her 10 women’s doubles already fit into history’s matrix. Since 1996, Venus and Serena Williams have the most major doubles wins (14), followed by Martina Hingis (13). Siniakova and Virginia Ruano Pascual are next with 10.
“Those names, I was watching them growing up,” Siniakova said. “And now to be almost there, it’s really nice. It’s hard to describe it in words -- it just means a lot.
Earlier this summer, Townsend briefly passed Siniakova as the No. 1-ranked doubles player when she and Zhang Shuai, playing together for the first time, advanced to the Washington, D.C. final.
“It is a dream,” Townsend said. “It’s one of the goals that I set for myself when I actually began to think it was attainable.”
Said Siniakova, “She said in the beginning of the year that this is her goal. I was so happy for her because she deserved it.
After losing in the US Open finals, their plans diverged. Both players actively pursue their singles careers, with Siniakova currently at No. 49 and Townsend at No. 118 -- although her career high is No. 46. That disparity means they sometimes don’t play the same tournaments.
They were supposed to play the WTA 1000 in Beijing, but Townsend wasn’t feeling great. Eventually, she played singles in Osaka. Siniakova, playing with three different partners, remarkably won Seoul with Krejcikova and Wuhan with Storm Hunter before reaching the semifinals in Ningbo with Hsieh Su-Wei. That haul of points gave her a comfortable cushion at the No. 1 spot.
They plan to play the 2026 Grand Slams and as many WTA 1000s as possible.
Like a number of successful teams in history, Townsend (a lefty) and Siniakova (a righty) swing from opposite sides.
“It’s always a compliment to be able to have a lefty because you don’t see it very often,” Towsend said. “It is an advantage …
“… for me,” Siniakova interjected.
“For Kat,” Townsend said. “And for me, someone so good. I think that we complement each other well, but ultimately it goes down to our game styles, but also our ability to work together on the court. And that’s what doubles is about.”
Sitting in the players’ lounge, Siniakova continually shook her head as she discussed her growing place in the game.
“I cannot even believe it,” she said. “I’m just so happy I can have such success. I hope it’s not the end. I’m definitely hungry for more.”