By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, September 11, 2026
Photo credit: Garrett Ellwood/USTA
NEW YORK—The top seeds turned the world’s largest tennis stadium into a tennis trampoline.
In a confident close, Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend bounced their way into Grand Slam history.
Siniakova and Townsend won 12 of the last 14 games defeating American wild cards Ashlyn Krueger and Robin Montgomery, 5-7, 6-0, 6-2 in today’s US Open doubles final to complete the career Grand Slam.
When Montgomery’s final forehand volley sailed wide, Siniakova and Towsend embraced and bounded up and down in an eruption of pure joy.
Contesting their fifth major doubles final together, the 30-year-old partners have reached rare major air.
World doubles No. 1 Siniakova made Open Era history as the first woman to win a career doubles Grand Slam with two different partners—she partnered compatriot Barbora Krejcikova to the 2022 US Open champions to complete the career doubles Golden Slam.
Doubles No. 2 Townsend is the sixth active woman to complete the career doubles Grand Slam—and she did it winning her maiden US Open doubles crown. Townsend, previously a two-time US Open doubles runner-up, with Caty McNally in 2022, and with Siniakova last year, was also a two-time mixed doubles finalist, partnering Donald Young to the 2024 finals and Evan King in the 2025 Roland Garros mixed final.
Those close calls—and her past differences with USTA execs—made this maiden US Open championship even sweeter for Townsend.
If you’ve followed Townsend’s career, then you know her dispute with the USTA dates back to 2012. Townsend was then the world No. 1 junior, however the USTA execs denied funding her trip to New York City for the 2012 US Open because they claimed she wasn’t fit enough. Townsend countered the Tennis Association was body shaming her and said coaches pressured her into losing weight.
Despite that slight, Townsend raised the funds through family, friends and fans to take the trip to Flushing Meadows where she reached the US Open girls’ singles quarterfinals and won the girls’ doubles title partnering Gabrielle Andrews to a straight-sets win over d Belinda Bencic and Petra Uberalová in the final.
Given all that past history, when Townsend stepped before the microphone today and opened saying “Yall know this is my moment and I’m about to take it” anticipation was running wild about what she’d say.
Townsend took the high road thanking fans for their unwavering support, Siniakova for superb play, Krueger and Montgomery for their maiden major final before closing with a clear message to the skeptics and critics.
“If flipping a script had a face it would be my face,” Townsend said with a smile.
Last year, Townsend made history as the first mom to ever rise to world No. 1 seizing the doubles top spot.
Today, the Atlanta resident shared the spotlight with fellow black American players standing on a stadium named after the first black man to win Wimbledon with a bust of the first black player to win a Grand Slam crown, Althea Gibson, greeting fans in front of Ashe Stadium.
“I take a lot of pride being a black woman; there are two black women here and two black women in the semifinals,” Townsend said. “Chanda [Rubin], it means a lot for you to be standing here because you paved the way for us.
“This is a phenomenal time for tennis and it’s just getting started.”
It was a dynamic run to the final for Krueger and Montgomery, who toppled the second-seeded team of Gabriela Dubrowski and Luisa Stefani 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(8) in a dramatic comeback win Wednesday night on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
“I think with what we’ve just done has been amazing,” Montgomery said. “I think we did forget that we were offered a wild card, so I’m just glad we made good use of it, and I’m glad we were able to come back together and continue playing here, especially with our success in juniors.
“Yeah, it’s just amazing. I think we’re both just trying to take it all in.”
The 2021 US Open girls doubles champions Krueger and Montgomery surprised the top seeds in the opening set. The pair were making the right decisions driving out to a 4-1 lead.
Though Siniakova and Townsend broke back in the seventh game and eventually evened it after eight games, Krueger and Montgomery made the most of their first set point breaking to seize a one-set lead.
Siniakova and Townsend permitted only two points on serve in that shutout second set.
Moving as if connected at the hip by a string the pair won 12 of 14 serve points and pounded down 12 winners—10 more than their American opponents—in dishing out the bagel.
Montgomery started the final set slamming an ace to save break point. The left-handed Montgomery struck another ace to stop her side’s six-game slide and open to start the final set.
Tension escalated in the third game when Krueger double faulted to face break point. As the game dragged on past eight minutes, Montgomery made the right play poaching left, but then hit the wrong shot flicking a drop volley instead of punching the volley down the middle. Siniakova ran it down easily bolted a backhand Montgomery could not handle as the top seeds broke for 2-1.
One of seven women to own a doubles Golden Slam in Open Era history, Siniakova stamped a love hold, exploiting a series of backhand errors, to back up the break for 3-1.
Familiarity between the top seeds was evident when Townsend made a fantastic forehand stab near the baseline to extend the point, setting up Siniakova, who crashed the middle and knocked off a forehand volley for break point. Montgomery saved it and held firm.
Krueger, who hit some exceptional drive and angle volleys in the semifinal comeback win, said when the top seeds turned it up today it was tough to match that energy.
“I think it was a little bit of a comedown. The last two matches have been very emotional,” Krueger said. “That also I think played for me a big part of just energy-wise, like I wish I had more energy.
“But at the same time, they started picking up their game and playing very well and serving very well. Taylor was really active at the net and making her volleys and making really smart moves. I mean, they’re 1 in the world.
“They were playing, like, the doubles team that are 1 in the world. I’m really proud of us. I think the last two weeks have been amazing for both of us, and really happy that I got to do it with Robin.”
Townsend hit a dipping topspin forehand sealing another love hold for a 4-2 lead at the 99-minute mark.
Piercing the center with a high forehand volley, Townsend sparked the second break of the set, stretching the lead to 5-2 and drawing a fist pump from Siniakova.
Serving for the championship, Siniakova saved a break point when Krueger netted a backhand.
“Come on! Come on!” Townsend urged her partner. Pouncing on an 84 mph serve, Montgomery hit a clean backhand return winner for a second break point. Townsend blocked a volley to save it. Then Siniakova, gnawing on her nails between points, hit a solid serve to save a second break point.
Inducing a netted return, Siniakova reached championship point.
When Montgomery’s final forehand volley went wide, Townsend and Siniakova embraced and bounced up and down in exuberance while some members of their box shed tears of joy.
Refusing to allow execs to destroy her US Open dreams as a teenager, Townsend realized the dream today showing the power of resilience to rewrite major plotlines.
0 comments