NEW YORK (AP) — Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova won their first U.S. Open women’s doubles title together Friday, completing their career Grand Slam as a team by defeating the wild card pair of Ashlyn Krueger and Robin Montgomery in the final.
Townsend and Siniakova rallied after a rough start contributed to losing the first three games and dropping the first set. The top seeds started looking like it with aggressive shots at the net, and they took control of the match on the way to a 5-7, 6-0, 6-2 victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
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Taylor Townsend, of the United States, left, and Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, right, celebrate winning the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Ashlyn Krueger, of the United States, and Robin Montgomery, of the United States, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, bottom left, and Taylor Townsend, of the United States, bottom right, meet Robin Montgomery, of the United States, top left, and Ashlyn Krueger, of the United States, top right, at the net after Siniakova and Townsend won the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, left, and Taylor Townsend, of the United States, right, celebrate winning the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Ashlyn Krueger, of the United States, and Robin Montgomery, of the United States, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Taylor Townsend, of the United States, left, and Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, right, look up to return the ball as they compete against Ashlyn Krueger, of the United States, and Robin Montgomery, of the United States, during the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, left, and Taylor Townsend, of the United States, right, celebrate winning the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Ashlyn Krueger, of the United States, and Robin Montgomery, of the United States, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Taylor Townsend, of the United States, left, and Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, right, celebrate winning the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Ashlyn Krueger, of the United States, and Robin Montgomery, of the United States, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, bottom left, and Taylor Townsend, of the United States, bottom right, meet Robin Montgomery, of the United States, top left, and Ashlyn Krueger, of the United States, top right, at the net after Siniakova and Townsend won the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, left, and Taylor Townsend, of the United States, right, celebrate winning the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Ashlyn Krueger, of the United States, and Robin Montgomery, of the United States, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Taylor Townsend, of the United States, left, and Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, right, look up to return the ball as they compete against Ashlyn Krueger, of the United States, and Robin Montgomery, of the United States, during the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, left, and Taylor Townsend, of the United States, right, celebrate winning the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Ashlyn Krueger, of the United States, and Robin Montgomery, of the United States, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
"There was lot of nerves," Siniakova said. “We were really fighting for this one, so I’m just really proud. We did it.”
The result validated Townsend's confidence in her play after getting knocked out of the women's singles tournament by No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. The 30-year-old American expressed confidence in her tennis at the moment, especially knowing she still had another opportunity in doubles.
That turned into her fourth major championship after she and Siniakova won Wimbledon in 2024, the Australian Open in 2025 and the French Open earlier this year. It is Siniakova’s 12th after winning seven with fellow Czech player Barbora Krejcikova and one with Coco Gauff.
It was an impressive run for Krueger and Montgomery, who respectively rank 570th and 610th in doubles and went through each half of defending champions Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski separately in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Krueger and Montgomery reunited five years after winning the U.S. Open girls' doubles title and advancing a round at the women's level in 2021.
"We put (the wild card) to really good use," Krueger said.
Townsend and Siniakova got retribution after falling short against Routliffe and Dabrowski in the final a year ago. Townsend dropped to her knees after the final point and was all smiles as she said to Siniakova that they finally did it.
“If flipping the script had a face,”Townsend said, “you’d see my face.”
See AP’s full tennis coverage here
Taylor Townsend, of the United States, left, and Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, right, celebrate winning the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Ashlyn Krueger, of the United States, and Robin Montgomery, of the United States, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, bottom left, and Taylor Townsend, of the United States, bottom right, meet Robin Montgomery, of the United States, top left, and Ashlyn Krueger, of the United States, top right, at the net after Siniakova and Townsend won the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, left, and Taylor Townsend, of the United States, right, celebrate winning the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Ashlyn Krueger, of the United States, and Robin Montgomery, of the United States, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Taylor Townsend, of the United States, left, and Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, right, look up to return the ball as they compete against Ashlyn Krueger, of the United States, and Robin Montgomery, of the United States, during the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, left, and Taylor Townsend, of the United States, right, celebrate winning the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships against Ashlyn Krueger, of the United States, and Robin Montgomery, of the United States, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
MADRID (AP) — Kimi Antonelli kept his momentum on the challenging new Madring track on Friday, leading the way in practice in the return of Formula 1's Spanish Grand Prix to Madrid.
Antonelli, the points leader coming off an epic comeback win in Monza, set the fastest time at the hybrid circuit that proved difficult but didn't yield many major incidents on the first day of track action.
Arvid Lindblad's crash prompted the first red flag of the weekend. He lost control of his Racing Bull on a turn and hit the barriers.
“It is a very cool circuit to drive around,” Antonelli said. “It is a real challenge for us as drivers, with lots of high-speed corners and walls close by. You need to be very precise with your lines and good on the brakes.
"It is very easy to lock up as there are a lot of places where you are braking and turning at the same time. It is a fun challenge and one that I am enjoying. We’ve had a good first day here."
Some drivers went off the track and a few brushed the walls at the unforgiving layout which mixes city roads and purpose-built sections. Many struggled to avoid track limits, and traffic was an issue as the layout produced few overtaking opportunities.
Qualifying on Saturday was likely to be key in determining Sunday's winner of F1's first race in Madrid in 45 years.
“Overtaking is likely going to be a real challenge,” Antonelli said. “That makes our single-lap work tomorrow morning even more important. We will focus on that overnight, but also looking to ensure we have a good race car for Sunday.”
Drivers said tire degradation would likely be an issue. Teams said the tires were tricky to get into the correct operating window as grip was surprisingly good.
“There’s a big question mark over the tire degradation," Antonelli's Mercedes teammate George Russell said. "With the tire degradation we all had, we think a six-stop race would probably have been the fastest way. I don’t think anybody’s going to do a six-stop race on Sunday and I’m sure tire deg will be better, but with that big long corner, it really hurts the tires. That’s going to be a real challenge for everyone.”
Russell was fastest in the first practice, followed by Antonelli, who is looking to keep his momentum and add to his points lead after rallying from 19th on the grid to win his home Italian GP in Monza last weekend.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were second and third in the second session, respectively, both about a tenth of a second behind Antonelli. Lindblad was fourth despite his crash, ahead of Russell and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
“I’m really sorry, I lost it super early,” rookie Lindblad told his team over the radio.
McLaren's Lando Norris had his run cut short early in the second session because of a gearbox problem.
Last weekend's victory gave the 20-year-old Antonelli a 66-point lead over Russell with 10 races remaining.
The Spanish GP ends the European part of the season.
The 5.4-kilometer (3.3-mile) Madring track, the newest addition to the F1 calendar since Las Vegas’ debut three years ago, combines high-speed zones, heavy-braking areas, changes of gradient, blind turns and high-load corners that should give drivers little margin for error.
Cars from F2 and F3 were the first to take to the track on Friday, with a fiery crash involving F2 driver Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak after he hit the barriers and his car caught fire.
Organizers said tickets for the Spanish GP were sold out, with 350,000 people in total expected to attend over the three days of racing.
But it was unlikely they will be celebrating a victory for one of the two Spanish drivers as Fernando Alonso 's Aston Martin and Carlos Sainz's Williams remained off the pace.
Alonso missed parts of the second practice because of a clutch problem. He ended 15th in the first session and 17th in the second. Sainz was 17th fastest in the first session and 16th in the second.
See AP’s full auto racing coverage here
McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain steers his car during the first free practice ahead of the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix, in Madrid, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Alpine driver Pierre Gasly of France steers his car during the first free practice ahead of the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix, in Madrid, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco steers his car during the second free practice ahead of the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix, in Madrid, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy prepares for the first free practice ahead of the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix, in Madrid, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armanague)
Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy steers his car during the second free practice ahead of the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix, in Madrid, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain steers his car during the first free practice ahead of the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix, in Madrid, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the first free practice ahead of the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix, in Madrid, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco steers his car during the first free practice ahead of the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix, in Madrid, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain steers his car during the first free practice ahead of the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix, in Madrid, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy steers his car during the first free practice ahead of the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix, in Madrid, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso of Spain attends a press conference ahead of the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix, in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain is pictured in the paddock ahead the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix, in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
A Ferrari team member works in Charles Leclerc's section of the paddock ahead of the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
A man drives a golf cart inside the Spanish Grand Prix circuit in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
The Mercedes team trains ahead of the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix, in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
