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Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova shook hands following their Australian Open doubles match but they barely acknowledged each other in what was one of the coldest moments at Melbourne Park this year.
Krejcikova, 28, and 27-year-old Siniakova started playing doubles together as teens and went on to achieve massive success together. After winning the 2023 Australian Open doubles title, Krejcikova and Siniakova recorded their seventh Grand Slam win as a pair.
At the time, no one could have predicted that the long-time and very successful partnership of Krejcikova and Siniakova would be coming to an end after the 2023 season.
In their second tournament with different partners, Krejcikova and Siniakova clashed against each other. Siniakova was the one who ended on the winning side after she and her new partner Storm Hunter came back from a set down to beat Krejcikova and Laura Siegemund 7-5 1-6 6-3.
Even before the match started, there was a lot of talk about how Krejcikova and Siniakova would embrace each other. Moments after the match was over, a very cold moment proceeded as Krejcikova and Siniakova barely looked at each other during their handshake.
Not much love in that handshake by Katerina Siniakova & Barbora Krejcikova there
— Andrew Jerell Jones, Luke 1:37 (IG:twdbk3) (@sluggahjells) January 24, 2024
Not much at all #ausopen pic.twitter.com/AEDo1Iv3mB
What happened between Krejcikova and Siniakova?
After going 1-2 at the WTA Finals and failing to make it past the group stage, Krejcikova and Siniakova also played doubles during the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, where they went 2-1. While the reason for their shock split hasn't been publicly announced, some reports in the media suggested that Siniakova was the one who initiated the split.
In their first meeting as opponents, Hunter and Siniakova claimed an early break for a 2-1 lead before Krejcikova and Siegemund responded with breaks in the fourth and 10th games to overturn the deficit and win the opener. Siniakova and Hunter bounced back in the second set, breaking Krejcikova and Siegemund in the 11th game before serving out for a decider in the following game.
After losing the second set, Krejcikova and Siegemund made a strong start to the third set, opening an early 3-0 lead. Down by a break, Siniakova and Hunter stormed back as they won six of the next seven games to overturn an early third-set deficit and complete a comeback win.