Tennis at Paris Olympics 2024 Day 5: Women's doubles predictions ft. Coco Gauff/Jessica Pegula vs Karolina Muchova/Linda Noskova
Teams will fight for a spot in the quarterfinals of women's doubles at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday, July 31. Three teams have already made the last eight. Hsieh Su-wei and Tsao Chia-yi advanced to the stage after Marta Kostyuk and Dayana Yastremska gave them a walkover.
Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini beat home favorites Caroline Garcia and Diane Parry 5-7, 6-3, 10-8 in an exciting showdown. Sara Sorribes Tormo and Cristina Bucsa ousted the Argentine duo of Nadia Podoroska and Maria Lourdes Carle in the second round to make the quarterfinals.
Now, the remaining teams will be vying to join the trio. Some of the biggest names in singles, including Coco Gauff, Danielle Collins, Leylah Fernandez, and Barbora Krejcikova, will be in action in doubles on Wednesday.
Here's a look at the predictions for most of the women's doubles matches lined up for the day at the Paris Olympics:
#1 - Coco Gauff/Jessica Pegula vs Karolina Muchova/Linda Noskova
Top seeds Gauff and Pegula commenced their run at the Paris Olympics with a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 win over Australians Ellen Perez and Daria Saville. Muchova and Noskova were tested by Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Alexandrova but eventually prevailed 2-6, 7-6 (5), 10-6.
All four players have already lost in singles, with Gauff being the last amongst them to be eliminated as she went down to Donna Vekic in the third round. Muchova is amid her comeback, while Noskova has been quite inconsistent in recent weeks.
Pegula and Gauff have proven themselves in doubles with a few big titles and deep runs at the Majors. However, the Czechs are a tricky pair to handle, especially Muchova. This match could swing either way, though the Americans' experience as a team could help them sneak past their opponents.
Predicted winners: Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula
#2 - Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova vs Shuko Aoyama/Ena Shibahara
Siniakova and Krejcikova, the defending champions, kicked off their doubles campaign at the Paris Olympics with a 6-4, 6-0 win over the Chan sisters from Taiwan.
Aoyama and Shibahara beat Romania's Ana Bogdan and Jaqueline Cristin 6-2, 6-3 in their opener. Siniakova and Krejcikova are the most accomplished doubles pair of their generation and have a career Super Slam in doubles.
The two put a pause on their successful partnership and teamed up with different players this season. They reunited to win the title in Prague last week like they never even separated. The Czechs' dominance in the discipline makes them the heavy favorites in this match-up.
Predicted winners: Katerina Siniakova and Barbora Krejcikova
#3 - Danielle Collins/Desirae Krawczyk vs Lyudmyla Kichenok/Nadiia Kichenok
Collins and Krawczyk defeated Greeks Maria Sakkari and Despina Papamichail 6-1, 6-3 to begin their quest for a gold medal at the Paris Olympics. The Kichenok sisters from Ukraine secured a 6-1, 6-4 win over Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai from China.
Collins will be pulling double duty on Wednesday as she will first take on World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in her singles quarterfinal. If she gets involved in a lengthy slugfest, then it could potentially harm her doubles performance.
The Kichenok sisters are doubles specialists but don't play together that often. Both Collins and Krawczyk have powerful groundstrokes and could overwhelm the Ukrainians with their big hitting to come out on top in this encounter.
Predicted winners: Danielle Collins and Desirae Krawczyk
#4 - Leylah Fernandez/Gabriela Dabrowski vs Mirra Andreeva/Diana Shnaider
Andreeva and Shnaider won titles on clay in the lead up to the Paris Olympics but crashed out in the first and second rounds respectively in singles. They edged out Australians Ajla Tomljanovic and Olivia Gadecki 6-3, 2-6, 10-6 in the first round of doubles.
Fernandez's singles campaign here came to an end in the third round at the hands of three-time Major champion Angelique Kerber. She teamed up with Dabrowski to begin their doubles campaign with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Clara Burel and Varvara Gracheva from France.
Dabrowski has primarily tasted success in doubles, and Fernandez, too, has made an impact in it. The latter finished as the runner-up at last year's French Open with Taylor Townsend.
Andreeva and Shnaider, mostly the former, have dabbled in doubles from time to time. The teenager reached the doubles quarterfinals at the French Open this year and the semifinals in singles. The Russian duo could give the Canadians a tough time but the latter team's experience could help them survive in the end.
Predicted winners: Leylah Fernandez and Gabriela Dabrowski