WOMEN’S DOUBLES MATCH NOTES Gold Medal Match

TOKYO 2020 OLYMPIC TENNIS EVENT WOMEN’S DOUBLES MATCH NOTES Gold Medal Match Sunday 1 August 2021 No. 1 Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE) v Belinda Bencic/Viktorija Golubic (SUI) Bronze Medal Match Saturday 31 July 2021 Veronika Kudermetova/Elena Vesnina (ROC) v Laura Pigossi/Luisa Stefani (BRA) On court this weekend… • The women’s doubles gold medal match here will be the 2nd clash between Czech Republic and Switzerland this weekend – and Belinda Bencic will hope that her exertions in singles on Saturday will not affect her attempts to win doubles gold alongside Viktorija Golubic. The challenge for the Swiss team could not be any greater than facing the No. 1 seeds and 3-time Grand Slam champions in Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova. Both pairs have equalled their nations’ previous best performances in women’s doubles at the Olympic Tennis Event – the Czechs have won the silver medal in women’s doubles in 1988, 1996 and 2012, while the Swiss won the silver medal in this event at Rio 2016. Prior to this year, neither Czech Republic nor Switzerland had won an Olympic gold medal in a women’s singles or doubles – both nations have 2 chances this weekend to claim their first. • In the bronze medal match, Wimbledon runners-up Veronika Kudermetova and Elena Vesnina bid for ROC’s first medal at the Olympic Tennis Event this year – and there is also some personal glory on offer for Vesnina. She is aiming to win her 2nd Olympic medal (having won gold in this event at Rio 2016) and will also go level with Conchita Martinez in 3rd place on the list for most Olympic women’s doubles match wins in history, with only the Williams sisters having won more Olympic women’s doubles matches. But on the other side of the net will be a team who have defied all the odds to reach this stage – Laura Pigossi and Luisa Stefani are bidding to win a first medal for Brazil at the Olympic Tennis Event and finish a sublime week in style.