8 Olympic pairings: the women
This article was originally published in 2019.
The Summer Olympics will be upon us once again in 2021. One of the most fascinating parts about Olympic tennis is the doubles. Global superstars create pairings that you typically won’t see anywhere else. Many countries have multiple big-name tennis players, and predicting who will be playing doubles with who is always a fun pre-Olympic activity.
Eight potential Olympic Women’s Doubles pairings that we can’t wait to watch
So, without further ado, let’s dive into our predictions for the most interesting Women’s Doubles possibilities for the 2021 Olympics. Plus, read our predictions for the Men's Doubles and Mixed Doubles competitions.
Australia: Ashleigh Barty & Samantha Stosur
Why they excite us: The current world No. 1 in WTA singles paired up with an Australian tennis icon and six-time Grand Slam champion (five in doubles)? “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!” indeed.
Proposed celebrity couple team name: Bartosur
Belarus: Aryna Sabalenka & Victoria Azarenka
Why they excite us: Victoria Azarenka already has two Olympic tennis medals to her name. In 2012, she won gold in the Mixed Doubles and bronze in Singles. Therefore, she’s only missing a Women’s Doubles medal. Fortunately for her, she’ll have arguably one of the best doubles partners she could ask for in 2020: countrymate Aryna Sabalenka. Aryna is one of the major breakthrough talents on the WTA Tour this year, in both singles and doubles. She is currently a top 10 player in the world in singles, and is the No. 2 ranked player in doubles. Together with her usual partner Elise Mertens, Sabalenka has taken doubles titles in Indian Wells, Miami, and at the US Open.
Proposed celebrity couple team name: Lenkarenka
Canada: Bianca Andreescu & Eugenie Bouchard
Why they excite us: they’re probably the team on this list that will attract the most headlines. Eugenie Bouchard took the tennis world by storm in 2014 making semifinal runs at three of four of the Grand Slams, including a Wimbledon final (a first for her country). She broke into the top 5 in the world. She has since faced a steep drop in her singles rankings, but remains a well known public figure with her modeling. Bianca Andreescu needs no introduction after the year she has had. She shot up from outside the top 100 to No. 4 in the world in singles in a year where she missed almost five months due to injury. Bianca won singles titles at Indian Wells, the Rogers Cup, and, of course, her first Grand Slam title at this year’s US Open. Moreover, this was the first Grand Slam singles title ever for a Canadian athlete. Bianca and Eugenie are both responsible for increasing the popularity of tennis in Canada exponentially, and watching the two players go for gold in Tokyo will likely be a big deal in the north.
Proposed celebrity couple team name: Benie
Likely team name: They the North
France: Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic
Why they excite us: A former, very successful, all-French doubles pairing, Caroline Garcia (a Topnotch Management athlete) and Kristina Mladenovic won the 2016 Women’s Doubles title at Roland Garros, while making deep runs at all the other Grand Slams of the year. They were voted as the best doubles pairing of that year by the WTA before having a tense public break-up in 2017, when Caroline Garcia decided to focus her career on singles. This year, they made up and played a key role in helping France qualify for this year’s Fed Cup. Mladenovic is currently the highest-ranked Women’s Doubles player in the world, so this should be a team to watch!
Proposed celebrity couple team name Gardenovic
Germany: Angelique Kerber & Julia Georges
Why they excite us: Two longstanding top names in the women’s tennis game playing doubles together. What’s not to love?
Proposed celebrity couple team name: Georber
Ukraine: Elina Svitolina & Dayana Yastremska
Why they excite us: This Ukrainian team has the highest average singles rating of any duo on the list. Plus, both have proven that they are not to be looked over when it comes to doubles. Svitolina won last year’s WTA Tour Finals, and has risen as high as fourth in the world this year in the WTA singles rankings. We expect big things from this Ukrainian duo!
Proposed celebrity couple team name: Yasolina (pronounced Ya-so-leeeeee-na)
United Kingdom: Johanna Konta & Heather Watson
Why they excite us: Johanna Konta has been having an excellent season climbing her way up from outside the top 40 to eleventh in the world in singles. A known Olympic enthusiast, Konta has stated that the highlight of her tennis career so far was representing Great Britain in the 2016 Olympic Games. Heather Watson has a great all-around game that would pair up well with Konta, and give the British fans a great combination to cheer for in Tokyo come 2021.
Proposed celebrity couple team name: Watta
United States: Serena Williams & Venus Williams
Why they excite us: Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more. Venus Williams is the most decorated tennis player in Olympic history, with five total medals: four gold and one silver. Serena has the second-most, with four gold medals. Three of each of the sisters’ medals come from playing Women’s Doubles with each other, an outright domination of the event. Both players are nearing the end of their respective careers and we are beyond excited to watch the golden sisters take one last shot at Olympic gold together.
Proposed celebrity couple team name: Serenus
Likely team name: The Williams Sisters
