
Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova’s productive doubles partnership had already yielded two major titles heading into Sunday’s women’s doubles final against Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic.
They can now call themselves champions in the California desert.
The No. 3-seeded duo came through a tight opening set, then skated home with a 7-6(4), 6-4 victory for their second WTA 1000 title and their fourth team title overall.
Townsend, who had to miss her son Adyn’s fifth birthday party to play the final, had trouble holding back her emotions after the win.
“I’m going to try to get through this without crying,” she said, before thanking her partner — who upset defending champion Mirra Andreeva in singles and suffered a leg injury along the way — for fighting through the pain.
“Thank you for sticking through this tournament. You had an amazing run in singles, you played like eleven hours in three days, and for you to come out and put your body on the line to continue to play, that’s not easy. Thank you so much for seeing this through.”
Get TicketsSiniakova, a holder of 10 major doubles titles, claimed her 34th career doubles title, while Townsend nabbed her 14th.
Two-time Grand Slam doubles finalists Danilina and Krunic were bidding for their second WTA 1000 title of the season. Despite the loss, they continue to hold down the No. 1 spot in the Race to the WTA Finals during a season in which they have reached at least the semifinals in all six events they have played.
They were sharp from the onset, matching strokes with Townsend and Siniakova in a hotly contested first set.
Twelve consecutive holds of serve carried the teams to a tiebreak after 48 minutes on a summery afternoon inside Stadium 1.
A run of five consecutive points from 4-2 down made the difference for Townsend and Siniakova, who claimed the opening set in 56 minutes.
After a trade of breaks early in the second, swift returning by Townsend and Siniakova put the duo over the top. They broke at love in the final game, converting their first match point to close the contest in one hour and 34 minutes.
“I don’t like playing lefties,” Krunic said afterward, disappointed with her performance. “I would like to thank Anna for playing against three today — I think she did a good job.”
Townsend finished her speech to a rousing ovation as she summed up her feelings.
“Today is such a special day for me — this is my son’s birthday. I’ve cried probably four times just looking at pictures, realizing that this is the day my life changed. It was a sacrifice to be here today, missing his birthday party, but I’m chasing my dreams.”

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