Unexpected power pair: Elena Rybakina and Emma Raducanu team up for DC Open doubles debut

Elena Rybakina and Emma Raducanu will form an unexpected doubles partnership at the DC Open and are preparing to debut in their first tournament together as a team this Tuesday, July 22.

It's not often you see two former singles Grand Slam champions united in a doubles draw, and this time, Raducanu and Rybakina have surprised the tennis world to kick off the hardcourt swing. This comes at a moment when both players are looking to quickly gain match rhythm after the surface change.

Indeed, surface changes usually require time for players, and there's nothing better than accumulating competitive matches to quickly gain confidence. Especially in this hardcourt swing, which quickly begins with significant challenges. The DC Open – a WTA 500 tournament – is the prelude to the WTA 1000 doubleheader in North America: the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open – which are played consecutively.

After both those tournaments, everything is ready and set for the US Open – with just a week's difference between the Cincinnati final and the start of action at Flushing Meadows. However, the uncertainty that an early exit can bring sometimes alters the schedule for the big stars, especially in cases like Rybakina and Raducanu, who have high aspirations in the upcoming tournaments.

Raducanu will debut first this Monday in the singles draw against the 7th seed Marta Kostyuk. While the Brit's intentions are surely to go as far as possible, an opponent like Kostyuk is more than complicated, and an early exit would force her to arrive at the next WTA 1000 in Montreal without much hardcourt match rhythm.

Rybakina's case is somewhat different, as her position as World No. 12 allowed her to be the 3rd seed and receive a bye in the first round. Although she doesn't know her opponent yet, it will be the winner between Anastasia Potapova and wildcard Victoria Mboko. In any case, the Kazakh former Wimbledon champion will debut against an opponent who will come with the rhythm of a prior victory, which could play a role in seeing surprises from the start of the tournament.

Emma Raducanu has very limited doubles experience, with only a handful of appearances in the category. A few weeks ago, she teamed up with Katie Boulter at the Queen's Club Championships, falling in the second round to the first seeds Erin Routliffe and Lyudmyla Kichenok. Nevertheless, they managed to secure a win for the local fans, who saw their two main female stars team up in doubles – though this time not to represent their country in the Billie Jean King Cup, but at a Tour level in the first-ever women's draw at Queen's.

Rybakina's case is similar, as she also has very limited doubles experience, although she had an unexpected appearance at Queen's in early June, partnering with her compatriot Yulia Putintseva. Like Raducanu/Boulter, the Kazakh duo debuted with a first-round victory but eventually fell in the quarterfinals to Demi Schuurs and Asia Muhammad.

We've often seen interesting women's doubles pairings where two good singles players team up, though curiously, often without great results. In this case, the DC Open will again feature a clash between high-profile singles players and experienced doubles specialists. Emma Raducanu and Elena Rybakina are set to play their Round of 16 match this Tuesday against Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls, a duo primarily dedicated to their careers as doubles players.

Also surprising with their doubles partnerships are Canadian Eugenie Bouchard – who recently announced her retirement after the Canadian Open next week – and seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, who will not only be in singles but will also partner with Hailey Baptiste in the doubles draw. They will specifically face Bouchard and Ngounoue in a compelling first-round encounter.