Siniakova, Townsend extend dominance in capturing Roland Garros doubles crown

Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend have won Wimbledon together. They’ve won the Australian Open together. And now they can add Roland Garros champions to their résumé as partners.

The No. 1 seeds defeated No. 2 seeds Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic 6-2, 7-5 in 1 hour and 32 minutes on Sunday in Paris, extending their dominance in a showdown between the two best doubles teams of the 2026 season. It is Siniakova's 11th Grand Slam title and No. 3 for Townsend.

It also marks the fourth Roland Garros crown for Siniakova, who previously won in Paris with Barbora Krejcikova in 2018 and 2021 and with Coco Gauff in 2024. For Townsend, it is her first Roland Garros title after finishing runner-up with Leylah Fernandez in 2023.

Together, Siniakova and Townsend have now won seven titles together in what has become a prosperous partnership, including three Grand Slams and four WTA 1000s, with their first coming at 2024 Wimbledon.

"Kat, this has been fun," Townsend said during the trophy presentation. "I'm really enjoying being by your side. For us, not only as a team but getting a chance to know each other and be able to share these moments together, it strengthens our bond. We've known each other for a lot of years, but these last two years have been so much fun getting to know you on and off the court.

"To get a chance to know your family and everyone who's behind you, who loves you and cares about you -- you can add me and my team, my people to that. We love and care about you as well, so thank you for being by my side and thank you for being a friend."

Path to the clay throne

As has become a bit of a theme for Siniakova and Townsend this season, now 27-2 with four titles, the duo was rarely challenged on their run to the title. They dropped just one set en route to the final, in the second round against Emiliana Arango and Iva Jovic.

In the semifinals, they overwhelmed No. 4 seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani 6-0, 6-1. That form carried into Sunday's final, as Siniakova and Townsend were intent on avoiding a second straight Grand Slam loss to Danilina and Krunic after falling to them in the Australian Open quarterfinals earlier this year.

The first set was rather routine for the top seeds. Townsend found the angle on a backhand winner to secure the break for 3-2, the second of five straight games they would win. Siniakova then saved a pair of break points before serving out the set after just 33 minutes.

Things got a little dicey in the second, as Siniakova and Townsend found themselves in a 4-1 hole after Townsend's serve was broken earlier in the set. But the American would more than make up for it down the stretch, lifting up both herself and an increasingly frustrated Siniakova.

"It's really nice when you know that you have someone on the other side and you can speak anything (out) loud," Siniakova said during their post-match press conference. "You can talk to them, even when you don't feel well or you don't feel the game on the court, and you can just say it (out) loud and get a conclusion."

After back-to-back backhand errors from Siniakova erased a triple break point opportunity, Townsend's baseline pressure allowed them to convert their fifth chance to break for 4-3. A few games later, Danilina and Krunic held a prime chance to force a decider, but Townsend saved the second break point with an overhead winner before a vintage Siniakova volley sealed the hold for 5-5.

The winning moment and what it means

The No. 1 seeds made sure their opponents would rue that missed opportunity. They broke in the next game, and Siniakova promptly delivered a love hold to close out the victory.

With the win, Siniakova and Townsend improved to 3-1 in Grand Slam finals together, their lone loss coming in last year's US Open final. Coincidentally, that is the only Major they have yet to win as a team.

Across the net, Danilina and Krunic fell to 0-3 in Slam finals and finished runner-up at Roland Garros for the second straight year after losing to Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in three sets in 2025. Despite the unceremonious record, Krunic remains optimistic that their breakthrough will come.

"We've had a great run since last year and I'm really proud of what we achieved," Krunic said during the trophy ceremony. "It was not easy. We have to compete against amazing players. I hope that soon we will get our Grand Slam together."

Au revoir, Paris

In the meantime, Danilina and Krunic can take solace in the fact that they've reached eight finals together over the past two seasons. While they have converted only two of those into titles, one of them was a WTA 1000 triumph in Doha earlier this season.

They will leave Paris firmly in the No. 2 position in the Race to the WTA Finals.

For Siniakova and Townsend, they will retain the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively, in the PIF WTA Doubles Rankings when the rankings are released Monday, as well as their sizable lead atop the Race. As they have been in essentially every tournament they've played this season, they will arrive at Wimbledon as the team to beat.

Siniakova -- now the solo active WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz leader in doubles titles with 37, surpassing both Errani and Hsieh Su-wei -- will look for No. 38 at the All England Club, while Townsend will chase her 17th.