Barbora Krejcikova and
Katerina Siniakova have announced their doubles split after a long and successful career together in the discipline.
The Czech duo last competed together just days ago in the semi-final of the
Billie Jean King Cup, where they were defeated by eventual champion Team Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski and Leylah Fernandez, who won the match 7-5, 7-6 (3). However, Krejcikova and Siniakova have seen a lot of success together over the years.
They first teamed up in 2013 and went on to win seven Grand Slam titles. Their first one came at the 2018 French Open before they picked up their second at Wimbledon in the same year. They then achieved victory at Roland Garros once again in 2021 before having a hugely successful season in 2022, winning the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. In 2023, they successfully defended their Australian Open title.
Siniakova says a break will do them both good
Over their decade of playing together, the duo also won nine other
WTA titles, the 2021 WTA Finals, and a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo
Olympic Games. This makes them the only women's doubles team to have completed the Career Super Slam together. However, they recently announced that they were going their separate ways.
Both players opened up on the reasons behind the split, with Krejcikova revealing it was her partner's decision: "We talked about it a lot. We discussed it a lot. It’s her decision and I respect it," she said. Meanwhile, Siniakova explained that she believed a break would be beneficial for both of them and hinted at a possible re-union in the future.
"We’ve agreed not to play together from next season. I wanted a little bit of a change. I think a break could do us good. I don’t rule out that we may play together again. Maybe we’ll be even stronger," she said. The pair were year-end No. 1's in doubles for three years, and at the moment Siniakova is ranked No. 10 while Krejcikova is No. 13. In singles, the latter is World No. 10 while the former is 45th in the world.
Fans have reacted to the news on social media with dismay but also understanding: "Wishing them the best and hope to see them together again one day," wrote The Tennis Letter on X, formerly known as Twitter. "That’s too bad but change may be a good thing," added another.
Meanwhile, others expressed their surprise at the pair deciding to split ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, where they would have been defending their title. "Huge surprise, especially in an Olympic year 2024," wrote one, while another added "gotta change this decision for the Olympics tho, no?"
