Mirra Andreeva stole a lot of the limelight in the run-up to the last weekend of the 2026 Mutua Madrid Open. She had a chance to claim a hugely prestigious double by lifting the singles and doubles titles in the Caja Magica, something nobody has ever done in the history of the event. In the end, there was a double of sorts, but it belonged to Katerina Siniakova instead.

The Czech player, alongside Taylor Townsend, saw off Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider 7-6, 6-3, reaffirming their status as the most in-form duo on the tour. The pair are in the midst of an astonishing streak. They won Indian Wells, they won Miami, and now they have also won the Mutua Madrid Open. Three consecutive WTA 1000s. No mean feat.

“Winning again in Madrid is spectacular. I’m happy to do it with you, Taylor. We’re playing at a great level and I’m really comfortable playing with you. Thank you so much”, said the Czech on court immediately after claiming the title in the Manolo Santana Stadium.

Siniakova and Townsend have not lost since February, a time during which they have only dropped two sets. It is a fact that goes a long way to explain their current dominance. The final in Madrid, though, was by no means a walkover. Andreeva and Shnaider, an Olympic silver-medallist duo destined for a big future, took first blood with a break in the third game and for a large part of the first set they were very much in the driving seat. However, Siniakova – Townsend can never be ruled out.

Their opponents responded like true champions. The Czech and American pair bagged a break to love when it looked like the set was slipping through their fingers, before cruising their way to a 7-2 win in the resulting tiebreak. From there, the match began to tip in their favour. Once they had a 1-0 lead on the board, Siniakova and Townsend played more freely and handled the big moments better, allowing themselves to close out with a 6-2 to claim the title and continue their absolute dominance.

The rewards for Siniakova are twofold. On the one hand, this is her second title in Madrid after the one of 2021 alongside Barbora Krejcikova. On the other, her performance in the Caja Magica takes her back to the pinnacle of the doubles rankings. On Monday she will begin her 181st week looking down on the rest, the third longest total ever, and in 2026 she will be bidding to become the first player in history to end six seasons as the world’s number one doubles player.

However, she was not alone on court today. Taylor Townsend deserves a large share of the plaudits after another superlative campaign in Madrid, where she continued the display the kind of form she has enjoyed all season. The American now has four WTA 1000 titles to her name and her extraordinary partnership with Siniakova just keeps delivering. A two-time Grand Slam champion, Townsend will be vying for one of the few big titles she is yet to win at this year’s French Open.

Given what we have seen in Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid, it is hard to imagine a hotter favourite for the title in Paris than the team formed by Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend. The double Andreeva was chasing down has ended up being a double for Siniakova; she is champion again in Madrid and she is back on top of the world.