American Townsend rolls into Miami Open doubles final with Siniakova

By Harvey Fialkov / Staff writer

MIAMI GARDENS – After a listless first set in her doubles semifinal on Friday afternoon, Taylor Townsend flashed back to her quarterfinal match at last year’s Miami Open when she took a scary fall.

Although she and steady partner Katerina Siniakova won that match, Townsend didn’t feel right in the next round, a loss. Afterward, it was confirmed Townsend had sustained a concussion; she was forced to miss the next two months until returning to the French Open.

“I was thinking about last year and how I didn’t know how long I’d be out of the sport, because you never know with a concussion,’’ said Townsend, 29, of Atlanta. “Over these last couple of weeks a lot of full-circle moments. Two weeks ago it was my son’s [A.J.] birthday for the final and we were able to win Indian Wells.

“And today, kind of reflecting just from a sense of health and being appreciative and grateful for my health and to be able to show up and do what I love to do.

“There are bigger things than a tennis match or the round or wanting to get a title. For me, that’s where my mindset was today and not knowing how long I would be out of the sport.”

As for the tennis, Townsend and Czechia’s Siniakova, the second seeds, picked up their energy in the second set and then played a spectacular super-breaker to defeat the third-seeds Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Luisa Stefani of Brazil, 4-6, 6-4 (10-3), to advance to their first Miami Open final as a team. They are in the market for a possible Sunshine Double.

“The beginning wasn’t going our way; we were missing a bit the feel and it was really going fast, not many rallies,’’ said Siniakova, 29, who has 34 titles, including eight Grand Slams and two with Townsend (2024 Wimbledon, 2025 Australian Open).

“We said to keep fighting and we found our rhythm in the middle of the second set and got our energy with better shots coming from our side. We felt the momentum turn and in the super-tiebreak we really played great.”

In Sunday’s final they will face the top-seeded Italians, Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini, who’s ranked 5^th in doubles and No.  7 in singles, after the fourth-seeded tandem of Belgian Elise Mertens (ranked No. 1 in doubles) and Shuai Zhang of China had to retire due to injury at 2-1 (Mertens).

Errani has won 36 titles, including the 2025 French Open and 2024 Olympic gold medal, both with Paolini.

In the men’s semis Friday, No. 4 seeds Harri Heliovaara of Finland and Henry Patten of Great Britain stunned the top seeded duo of Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina, 6-2, 6-3. Zeballos has won 27 titles, mostly with Granollers, who has 32 titles on his resume.

Patten has won 11 titles, including two Slams with Heliovaara, including Wimbledon and the Australian Open in 2025.

In Saturday’s 12:30 p.m. final, Patten/Heliovaara will play men’s Italian duo  7^th-seeded Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori, who took out Sander Arends of the Netherlands and Aussie John-Patrick Smith, 6-3, 6-4.

Bolelli, 40, has won 19 titles, including the 2015 Australian Open while Vavassori, 30, has 11.  Patten and Heliovaara have defeated the Bolelli/Vavassori team twice this year (Doha, Adelaide) as well as in the finals of the Australian Open last year.

“One of our main goals was to play in the finals of a Masters 1000,’’ Vavassori said. “It’s our fifth semifinal this year out of six tournaments. We are improving, playing together for 2½ years. Our attitude, energy and friendship has helped a lot. The matchup isn’t easy because they are the team to beat. … We had a lot of chances every time we played against them, but they have won most of them. It’s going to be tough.”

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About the Miami Open presented by Itaú

The 2026 Miami Open presented by Itaú will be played March 15 – March 29 at Hard Rock Stadium. The 15-day event is owned and operated by MARI and Hard Rock Stadium. The Miami Open is one of nine ATP Masters 1000 Series events on the ATP calendar, a WTA 1000 event on the WTA calendar, and annually hosts the world’s best players, with recent champions including the top players in each tour’s rankings – Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek. In 2025, the tournament attracted more than 400,000 spectators over its 15 days at Hard Rock Stadium. Widely regarded as the most glamorous stop on the ATP and WTA calendars, the Miami Open is defined by the city’s vibrant culture, nightlife, five-star dining and hospitality, iconic beaches, and celebrity appeal, along with its close proximity to Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

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The largest bank in Latin America, Itaú Unibanco operates in 18 countries and serves more than 70 million customers, including individuals and companies across a wide range of segments. With the purpose of strengthening financial well-being, the bank supports customers at different stages of life by offering solutions tailored to their needs, as well as innovation and information that encourage more conscious decision-making and a healthier relationship with money.

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MARI is a global events and experiences company with a portfolio of some of the world’s most influential live properties across sport, art, lifestyle, and entertainment. From international tennis tournaments such as the Mutua Madrid Open and the Miami Open presented by Itaú to Frieze, a leading voice in contemporary art, Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, TodayTix Group’s leadership in digital ticketing, and Barrett-Jackson’s leading collector car auctions, MARI’s portfolio reflects a shared ambition: to deliver live experiences that bring people together, inspire audiences and shape culture worldwide.

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