Townsend, Siniakova capture BNP Paribas Open doubles title

When Katerina Siniakova had to pull out of her singles fourth-round match with a hip injury, the likelihood of raising a trophy seemed remote.

But Siniakova, playing with a large bandage wrapped around her right thigh, was able to tough it out and keep playing in the doubles competition and she and American Taylor Townsend are now the 2026 BNP Paribas Open champions. They secured a first-set tiebreaker and went to a 7-6(4), 6-4 win over the talented team of Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic.

While no American woman has won a singles title here since 2001, this marks the second straight year an American woman has brought home the doubles trophy. Townsend joins Asia Muhammad who won in Indian Wells last year with partner Demi Schuurs.

Siniakova made noise earlier in this year’s BNP Paribas Open with one of the more stunning singles wins as she upset defending champion Mirra Andreeva in the third round, before bowing out in he next match with a hip injury against Elina Svitolina.

Saturday’s victory also makes Siniakova a multiple-time winner here. She teamed with Barbora Krejcikova to win the 2023 BNP Paribas Open women’s doubles crown.

The first set was on serve into the tiebreaker, but after Anna Danilina hit a beautiful winner to put her team up 4-2, the duo of Townsend and Siniakova rattled off the final five points of the set to grab the always crucial first set.

They kept that momentum going, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the second set when Townsend put away the winning break point in the second game with a perfect poach. But the team of Danilina and Krunic fought back, picking up a break in the seventh gam to hep turn a 4-1 deficit into a 4-4 tie that had Siniakova slamming her racket in frustration.

But Townsend and Siniakova regrouped, held serve to go up 5-4 and then broke Danilina and Krunic for the title. When the final ball went wide, Townsend and Siniakova raised their arms in victory and hugged, grinning ear to ear.

Despite, the loss, Danilina and Krunic have had a consistently excellent 2026, reaching the semifinal or the final in all six tournaments this year. They won one one title, in Qatar, and made the Australian Open final.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Townsend, Siniakova grab BNP Paribas Open doubles title in Indian Wells