AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 26, 2025

Taylor Townsend

Katerina Siniakova

Press Conference

TOWNSEND-SINIAKOVA/Hsieh-Ostapenko

6-2, 6-7, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Many congratulations, ladies, on winning your second Grand Slam title together. You won two of the last three majors. I suspect it means slightly different things to both of you. Taylor, would you like to begin with what it means to you?

TAYLOR TOWNSEND: Yeah, absolutely. This means a lot to me. Like I said on the court, the Australian Open Juniors in 2012 was really the start of me believing that it was even possible for me to play on a pro level.

You know, before that I vividly remember I was having a lot of success in doubles, but none in singles. I remember talking to my doubles partner, Gabby Andrews and Noah Rubin. I told them, You guys, I think I'm just going to quit singles and focus on doubles because I can't even win a match.

Lo and behold, then Australian Open Juniors comes around in January, and I win the doubles first and then the singles the next day. That was the start of me ever believing that it was possible for me to play on this level.

So this place means a lot to me, and it holds a lot of very dear memories. So this means a lot to be able to come back 13 years later. It's ridiculous that it's been that long. I don't feel that old, but it's amazing that I can come back here and hold this trophy.

It's not singles, but it means the world to me, because for me sometimes it's easy to compartmentalize and make it seem as though doubles is less than singles, but it's not. At the end of the day it's still a Grand Slam. It's a huge accomplishment not only for me, but now Kat has double-digit slams. That's something amazing too.

I can't even put it into words how it feels.

THE MODERATOR: Katerina, how are you feeling?

KATERINA SINIAKOVA: Well, nicely said. I mean, I am excited. It was really tough match, and I am just really happy that we managed to did it, that we kept fighting, and that I can have the trophy once more time.

Yeah, so I'm really excited. I'm enjoying the feeling, and I just want to stick with it.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. It's hard to believe you haven't played on Rod Laver since that moment. What were the feelings like when you were coming out? Did they all come back?

TAYLOR TOWNSEND: Yeah, I was telling me team, You guys, I haven't been on this court since 2012. We played our semis on Margaret Court, and I was kind of even thinking in my mind of when the last time I played on that court. I played Sloane in singles, and I think Wozniacki one time.

It's amazing that when you go out to these courts, you hold memories, and you remember what those feelings are. So being able to step back on the court and practice there, it kind of brought back those memories and how it felt, the little girl with braces and bows in her hair. It was really special.

Again, I'm really shocked at the fact it was just 13 years. I'm, like, Where the hell did time go? That's what's going on in my head. I really don't feel that old, but 13 years is a long time.

So, yeah, it feels amazing. I will forever hold this near and dear to my heart.

Q. At Wimbledon it was your first slam together, and you won it. Now that you've had more time to play together and spend time on and off the court, I'm curious what has it been like getting to know each other more on and off the court, and how has that affected, I guess, your form on the court?

TAYLOR TOWNSEND: Well, I've always had the best success with the people who I'm friends with first. I think this match showed it where it was like a lot of up and downs, and me and Kat were, like, I'm nervous as hell, or I'm not feeling it. We're able to really just be honest and communicate with each other, and I think that that is important. You know, we're able to work together and just be honest about how we're feeling.

Sometimes in those moments it's what you need to be able to let it out without any judgment or not feeling like you have to be perfect for your partner. I think what we're doing the best is being able to hold each other up when the other is not playing the best.

We're able to raise our level so that we can get back on the same page together. So I think this match really showed that. You know, off the court we have a great time. We laugh. We joke. Our coaches get along great.

So it's a really amazing camaraderie and a great gel for all of us, and it makes it easy because no stress, no drama. We just go and do our thing. Whatever happens, happens. You know, we're friends off the court, which I think makes a big difference.

Q. For you, Kat, what's it like been getting to know Taylor on and off the court?

TAYLOR TOWNSEND: She's gotten gray hairs (laughing).

KATERINA SINIAKOVA: Say it one more time.

Q. What's it like getting to know Taylor on and off the court and building your partnership, I guess?

KATERINA SINIAKOVA: I'm enjoying it. I mean, we know each other from juniors, but we never talked.

TAYLOR TOWNSEND: Never.

KATERINA SINIAKOVA: This journey, I mean, it's a roller coaster, and I love it. She's amazing girl. Yeah, as she said, I am totally vivid. I'm enjoying it. We are friends. Today exactly the match showed that we are helping each other, and I love it.

Q. There was an amazing atmosphere out there on Rod Laver Arena today. I think, in part, because they allowed ground pass holders in, which didn't happen for the men's in the mixed final. Did that bolster you having a big crowd to play in front of, and is that something you think Grand Slam organizers should make mandatory for doubles finals?

TAYLOR TOWNSEND: I definitely think so. At the US Open Eric Butorac gave us 200-plus tickets that we could have given to anybody. I did a give-away.

I think that this is an opportunity for people to be able to come see high-level tennis. You know, it's a match at 3:00 in the afternoon instead of having to wait until 7:30 to watch the men's final. So I definitely think that it's something that they should incorporate.

Also, it gives us a chance to be able to play in front of a great crowd. I mean, it was really fun. I was shocked at how it was tipping, but it just shows that there are people that are supporting and to be able to give the fans an opportunity to see this and not monetize off of it, essentially. You know, being able to get us that exposure.

That's what it means. I mean, it looks great when you have a full crowd and people cheering and you having great points. That looks amazing not only for the court and for us, but for the tournament as well.

I hope that that's something that we can continue and we can, as players, continue to bring our friends, family, friends of friends can come to the matches and support us as well. So I hope that is something that can continue, you know, over all the slams really. I think that it's great.

Q. Katerina, with your 10th slam and the couple Olympic medals, I think you're way ahead of everyone else in your generation, probably men and women in terms of doubles success. Pretty much anyone under 40, you're way ahead of all of them. I'm curious for you how that feels to be so clearly the GOAT of this generation.

TAYLOR TOWNSEND: Yeah.

Q. Then, Taylor, if you can chime in too saying how great she is basically and what you have seen from her up close and what's made her so damn good for this long while.

KATERINA SINIAKOVA: I mean, it sounds nice when you say it like this, but no, I think I'm still nerve. I'm enjoying it. I love to play doubles, so I'm just really happy that I can say I have all these succeed, but it sounds amazing.

It's really nice that you guys still saying it and kind of remembering it and saying it to me that I can still be really enjoying it, because I just, like professional athlete, I'm just, like, working hard and trying to get more and more. When you guys come and said, Oh, you did this, I really excited. So, yeah, it sounds perfect. So thank you (smiling).

Q. How good is she?

TAYLOR TOWNSEND: I don't think I need to say that. I think the accomplishments speak for themselves, but you know, to me it's an honor to be on the same side with Kat.

No, I'm learning a lot and being on the same side with someone who is so accomplished, I can say whole-heartedly even from Wimbledon, the experience and being able to lean on her in certain moments, really it came through. Even today it came through.

For me it's so fun, and I'm really enjoying being able to have this success with her because doubles is a partnership, and we're a team. We win together; we lose together.

I think that it's amazing. You know, I look at it as a part of history, where it's nobody in our generation that is as decorated or that has accomplished the things that this woman has. So to be able to be on the same side as her, it's an honor. I'll be happy to continue to rack up those slams with her (laughing).

KATERINA SINIAKOVA: Go for some more.

TAYLOR TOWNSEND: Yeah, exactly. She's in double digits, and I'm going to work to get there.

In the meantime, I'm really happy to be able to share the court with her and share these moments. It means a lot.

We were just talking about that, too. It's just, like, the first one felt like a relief. Like Wimbledon was, like, Oh, finally, because I lost to her in my first Grand Slam final in 2022 at the US Open, and I wanted to strangle her.

You know, being on the same side --

KATERINA SINIAKOVA: We were missing that US Open one, you know?

TAYLOR TOWNSEND: I know, you took it from me. Wimbledon felt like a relief. Like, finally got over the hump. We've been so close several times; finally got over it.

This time it was more of a relief, like, Yes. Like it was more excitement. Wimbledon I was bawling my eyes out crying like, Oh, my God, I did it. This time it was just like, I knew I could, but I think I proved to myself and we proved to each other, like, the level that we played was really, really high throughout the entire tournament.

I'm really proud of the way that we were able to fight in this match. So now it's not an accident. We earned it.

Q. Taylor, you mentioned about Madison Keys, watching her win last night. Obviously you've been through a lot in your career, but just seeing her come full circle and win, how was that? Also, I don't know if you saw what she said afterwards about how once she'd accepted she may never win a Grand Slam, it freed her up and all that sort of journey that she's been through. How great is that to see?

TAYLOR TOWNSEND: Oh, man, I was almost in tears. Like, I was choked up because when I was down at USTA, I was spending every weekend at Madison's house. I was spending the night at her house multiple times. She introduced me to country music and took me through a country phase (laughing).

But we spent so much time together. We shared a coach for a year and a half. So I spent a lot of time with her, and we developed a really close relationship.

You know, what I thought about was during I think it was at the French when she hurt herself and had to pull out, and I saw her in the locker room, and I just hugged her. She cried on my shoulder, and I'm, like, It's going to be okay, it's going to be okay.

It's times in those moments where you don't know what's going to happen, and she thought she tore a hamstring, and it was just a lot of uncertainty. So for me, like, as a friend, I'm just so genuinely happy because you see people overcome certain things, and you see people go through things.

To know that they put their head down and just work, and just you hope for the best. I just can't even put into words how happy I am, and it inspired me. I look at Madison and all the things that she's been through.

When she played Sloane in 2017, it was two women of color in the finals that weren't Venus and Serena. Even her being a woman of color winning here, and me as well, I just think that it's so inspiring. To be able to have little girls and boys looking at us, this is history in the making. I think something so special.

I can't even put into words how happy I am for her. You know, the first is always so great, and it's like kind of a relief. She's been close before, and I can attest to that feeling in doubles, as I was speaking about at Wimbledon. It is different, but it's not. In singles as well, getting over the hump is getting over the hump no matter what.

I have so much love for her. Being able to see her tie the knot. I went to her wedding in Charleston, and being able to share that moment with her off-court and just see the success on-court, you know, it's priceless. I'm just so happy.

Yeah, definitely both of our names etched in this book for the years to come, and that's special.

Q. Just on today's match, fans were very excited to see the four of you guys go up against each other just given your stature individually as the four of you. What was it like to face a team of Su-wei and Jelena? What were you guys kind of seeing that they were producing, the puzzle that needed to be solved, and what ultimately was the solution?

TAYLOR TOWNSEND: I won't give you my game plan. No, I'm kidding.

You know, they're a tough team, and I think it's hard when we've played them separately with other people. So then when they come together, it's different. We played Su-wei and Mertens several times last year. We played Ostapenko and Kichenok last year. We're familiar with their games, but then it's a switch-a-roo, so we have to adjust to that.

They play really well together. Su-wei is so crafty and is able to do so many great things. Jelena is so powerful from the baseline and so accurate with her groundstrokes.

Yeah, I mean, a lot of the points that we lost were on our racquet. A lot of the games that we lost was on our racquet. So that's what we spoke about. We were, like, we're doing the right things. We might have got a little scared, got a little tentative, but in the last set we really just played to win and played the big points in the big moments, and we stepped up. That's what it came down to.

Didn't let the little things bother us, get in the way, or we didn't get distracted by the mistakes that we made, which is what happened in the second set. I think that's what we're the most proud of.

You know, we were able to problem-solve and fight back. It was really just a fight. It was a fight up here, because it didn't have anything to do with the swinging the racquet or shots or anything like that. It was all between the ears.

So I think for myself, I don't know, I can't speak for Kat, but for me I'm happy with the way that we fought mentally and were able to fight through those tough moments and kind of overcome, because we were talking about it. I'm, like, Oh, my legs are so heavy, I can't move. Okay, we're swinging, we're doing this, we're playing to win.

That's what we kept saying. We were the aggressors, and we played to win, and we came out top.

Q. I just wanted to ask, keep it short if you want, but knowing that it was going to be -- you had no idea it was 13 years between your appearances on Rod Laver Arena, and I was there for your first one, so I was thinking that also. What would you tell yourself as a 15-year-old self about what to expect in the 13 years before she made it back there because you went through a lot in this time?

TAYLOR TOWNSEND: Oh, girl, I would tell her, Buckle up, buttercup, you're going to be in for a ride (laughing). No.

Honestly, I don't know. I mean, at the time I was so over the moon, because like I said, I didn't think it was possible. Being able to play on that court and accomplish the things that I did showed me that I could. A lot of the people that I played against and played against in juniors are all pros now and doing really well.

You know, for me I don't know. There's nothing I would change, because ultimately, the things that I've gone through have shaped me to be the person that I am today. It taught me a lot in terms of how to manage tough situations, people, and to stand up for myself publicly.

So it hasn't been easy. Shout out to my therapist, you know. Y'all have driven me to therapy, so thank you (laughing).

Ultimately being old enough now and in my latter years being comfortable in my own skin, working on myself, and being competent and comfortable enough to show the good, the bad, the ugly, the pretty, you know, and all the things in between.

So I wouldn't change anything, but it's super special because, like I said, I didn't believe that it was possible until accomplishing that. My whole life changed from that moment, because from that year -- I mean, that was in January, and if we go to the end of the year, which won Orange Bowl Juniors, which put me at No. 1, ending at No. 1.

Ultimately the following year I turned pro. It really changed the trajectory of my life. This was the start. It's so special.

Honestly, I wouldn't change anything, but I would tell her to buckle up, because it's going to be a ride for sure. I'm happy with where I am.