Former world number ones Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova could not quite replicate the form which took them to two Grand Slam titles in the previous year, but still played decently enough to book a spot at the year-ending WTA Finals for the second year in the running. Ranked sixth on the Porsche Race to Shenzhen leaderboard, the pair had to endure through several tough periods as Krejcikova met with some injury problems and they could not find the rhythm in their game.

The Czechs had to wait until the BNP Paribas Open to reach their first final of the year, but they also managed to have a good run in Madrid where they fell in the last four. Krejcikova and Siniakova entered Roland Garros and Wimbledon as the defending champions but was stunned in the first round in Paris though they did better in London, reaching the semifinals.

Krejcikova and Siniakova with their Montreal title | Photo: Vaughn Ridley
Krejcikova and Siniakova with their Montreal title | Photo: Vaughn Ridley

Losing the top spot in the rankings, they rebounded with a title run at the Rogers Cup although they were forced to take an extended break due to Krejcikova’s injury, skipping the entire Asian swing as a result. They returned in Linz, lifting their second title of the year to officially book their spots in Shenzhen.

Reaching the final in Singapore last year, they will contest the round-robin format this year in Shenzhen. The doubles field is already set, with all eight qualified teams. Their opponents during the week include Timea Babos/Kristina Mladenovic, Elise Mertens/Aryna Sabalenka, Hsieh Su-wei/Barbora Strycova, Samantha Stosur/Zhang Shuai, Chan Hao-ching/Latisha Chan, Gabriela Dabrowski/Xu Yi-fan, and Anna-Lena Groenefeld/Demi Schuurs.

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