Team to Watch: Barbora Strycova and Su-Wei Hsieh

Back in 2018, Barbora Strycova and Su-Wei Hsieh teamed up for the first time at the very last minute in Indian Wells—and went on to win the tournament.

It’s a rare thing to find, that immediate connection. Over the years since, the bond between the two has continued to strengthen as they’ve won multiple titles together and spent time atop the individual and team rankings. As the WTA Tour veterans get ready for the season ahead, the goal will surely be to add to their title haul at the majors.

However, with a slew of Grand Slam champions and contenders around them, will they be able to make more statements at the sport’s four most prestigious events?

They’ve been in the winners’ circle at the majors before: Just over a year after playing together, Strycova and Hsieh triumphed at Wimbledon for their first Slam title as a team. Over the course of their run at the All-England Club, the duo didn’t drop a set.

At the majors surrounding Wimbledon, though, they fell in the round of 16, losing to Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko in both Paris and New York. Strycova and Hsieh had a strong finish to 2019, with a runner-up showing at the WTA Finals, and that momentum carried over to 2020. They won three of their first four tournaments, with their only loss coming in the final of the Australian Open.

Then, the shutdown came. When tennis resumed, Strycova and Hsieh didn’t enter the New York “bubble” for the US Open. Rather, they reunited in Rome in preparation for the French Open—and they picked up right where they left off as they won their fourth title of the year.

Their success in Rome didn’t carry over to Paris as they lost in the third round again, this time to the unseeded pair of Desirae Krawczyk and Alexa Guarachi, who went on to reach the final.

The French Open would be the last tournament of 2020 for Strycova and Hsieh. With the imminent start of the new season, it’s been announced that the duo is on the entry list for the Australian Open, where they’re expected to be seeded second after Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic, who beat them for the 2020 title.

Success at the WTA Tour stops has been a near-given for the Czech-Chinese Taipei duo. Further establishing their legacy at the Grand Slams will most likely be at the top of their things to accomplish in 2021.