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MELBOURNE, Australia – A Grand Slam tournament is so chock-full of tennis generally, especially singles, that the other disciplines often go under the radar merely because of the glut.

But it hasn’t gone unnoticed here that this year’s Australian Open women’s doubles event has been fantastic.

And on Sunday, it comes down to No. 1s Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend against No. 3s Hsieh Su-Wei and Jelena Ostapenko for the title.

A fab Final Four

Prior to that, on Friday, there were two exceptional semifinal matches played on Margaret Court Arena. And the variety with those last four teams – the top three seeds, plus the unseeded Russian pair of Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider – just made it all more interesting.

The No. 1 seeds, Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, were accomplished doubles players on their own who have merged to form a powerhouse.

And it was random, on some levels. After splitting with Barbora Krejcikova, Siniakova was set to play with Storm Sanders. But then the Aussie lefty had a season-ending injury. Townsend, for her part, gave Leylah Fernandez the heave-ho and teamed up with Beatriz Haddad Maia for 2024.

But although they won the season opener in Adelaide, they were done after a first-round loss in Miami. Of such setbacks, are successes made.

The Cana-Kiwis

The No. 2 seeds, Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and Cana-Kiwi Erin Routliffe, teamed up in the summer before the 2023 US Open. If they had known each other for years, Routliffe had always been at a slightly lower level in the rankings, and had trouble finding a consistent partner to get better with. After they teamed up, Routliffe said she was grateful Dabrowski “took a chance” on her.

Their old-school, full-forward, serve-volley style is a throwback to doubles’ best days. And in today’s tennis, it is so hard to execute successfully that these two don’t get nearly enough credit for how incredibly skilled they are.

Cana-Kiwis fall in AO women’s doubles semis

The newbies

The No. 3 seeds, Hsieh Su-Wei and Jelena Ostapenko, are the most unlikely of pairings whose strengths – and demeanours – complement each other. And they are such fun to watch.

After a first-round defeat in Adelaide in their debut, they’re into the Australian Open final.

The unlikely duo of Hsieh and Ostapenko rocking Melbourne Park

Shnaider and Andreeva

Finally, the pairing of 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva and 20-year-old Diana Shnaider brings a dash of youthful exuberance to the top of women’s doubles.

The two play with their two backhands down the centre of the court with Shnaider playing the ad side. It’s rather more unusual than the typical strategy, but it works for them.

And in addition to their obvious singles skills, the two also know their way around the doubles court. And they look like they have a great time doing it – going all the way to the silver medal at the Olympics that included victories over Krejcikova and Siniakova, and Dabrowski and Fernandez before a narrow loss to Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini.

The rest of the best

Some other interesting pairings to watch for 2025 are Laura Siegemund and Beatriz Haddad Maia, and Nicole Melichar-Martinez with a resurgent Timea Babos.

Babos had been at the top of the doubles heap with Kristina Mladenovic just a few years ago. But she sort of fell off the map in singles, and has spent a lot of time on the ITF circuit.

Errani and Paolini, beaten by Andreeva and Shnaider in the second round in Australia, remain a force.

And we’ll see what the new team of Ellen Perez and Elise Mertens – both WTA Finals participants with different partners – can do once they play more together. Mertens began her 2025 season late, and was in Hobart playing singles to start the season so the two didn’t get many reps. They lost to Marta Kostyuk and Elena-Gebriela Ruse in the second round.

Another team that did great things in 2024 – Sofia Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands, appear to be history.

Mattek-Sands played Brisband and the AO with Marie Bouzkova; Kenin played in Melbourne with Monica Niculescu and lost in the first round. That former pair came oh, so close to qualifying for the WTA Finals, bumped out late in the game by Townsend and Siniakova.

Here’s a look at some of the doubles action around the Australian Open this year.