Venue: Melbourne Park Dates: 16-29 January |
Coverage: Commentary every day from 07:00 GMT on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra ‘Tennis Breakfast’ live from Melbourne, with selected live text commentaries and match reports on the BBC Sport website & app |
Top seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova extended their remarkable winning run at major tournaments as they defended their Australian Open women’s doubles title.
The Czech pair’s 6-4 6-3 victory over Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara was their 24th Grand Slam win in a row.
They have now won each of the past four Slam events that they have contested.
Their seventh major title saw them become the first to defend the women’s doubles title in Melbourne since 2014.
“I’m real excited to have this trophy again,” Siniakova said. “What we achieved the last few months, it’s amazing. I’m really proud and we’re playing great. The team spirit is working, because it’s tough.”
Olympic champions Krejcikova, 27, and Siniakova, 26, completed a career Grand Slam with their 2022 US Open win.
However, they were denied the chance to claim a calendar Slam – winning all four majors in the same year – because 2021 French Open singles champion Krejcikova tested positive for Covid-19 at Roland Garros last year.
The Czech pair’s last Grand Slam defeat came in the first round at the 2021 US Open.
Their latest victory at Melbourne Park means they have won 21 of their past 23 Australian Open matches, having reached the 2020 semi-finals and 2021 final prior to their back-to-back triumphs.