Taylor Townsend’s 2025 is a tale of two triumphs. A dominant force in doubles, she and Katerina Siniakova swept the Australian Open and Dubai titles, propelling her to World No. 2. Yet, while her doubles career soars, singles success has remained elusive. Now, facing her next challenge at Indian Wells, Townsend is channeling her relentless drive, battling through any obstacle—even nature itself—to break through.
On Sunday, Townsend took to her Instagram and shared a brief clip. It showed her making her way through a bad weather in California ahead of her qualifying stage in Indian Wells. On Monday, she will face Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer. However, it seemed that the nature was against Townsend.
She revealed, “Let me show you guys what I’m practicing in today. Look how hazy… it is. And it’s so windy, I can’t see…my eyes feel like they are getting stretched out. This is crazy.” Telling about her experience at the nets, she said, “When I was hitting, literally the ball would bounce and it would just be dust. This is crazy. But if I can play in this, I can play anything.”
Well, that’s the spirit she needs right now. Especially considering how her singles journey has turned out at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells so far. To put it in a nutshell, it’s not been great. Speaking of recent appearances at the event, she couldn’t move past the qualifying stage in 2023’s edition. Last year, she made it to the main draw but failed to go past the R64 after losing to Anna Kalinskaya.
But that’s the exact challenge, right? To perform better this time and emerge victorious, just like she did at the Australian Open over a month ago. That doubles victory was special for her due to many reasons – but one stood out the most.
When Taylor Townsend expressed her decade-old Australian Open connection
Australian Open was the second Slam win for the pair of Taylor Townsend and Siniakova. Last season, in July, the two also won the women’s doubles trophy at the Wimbledon. In the final at the All England Club, they beat Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe 7-6, 7-6. But it was the win down under that brought a feeling of déjà vu for Townsend. How?
Revealing a decade-old connection with the event, the 28-year-old mentioned that the last time she played in Melbourne, she was just 15. During a post-match conference, she said, “I won the juniors here, that was the kickstart.”
“Being here is so special to me because this tournament was the start of me living out this dream. I honestly didn’t think playing on this stage was possible when I played the juniors, so 13 years later to be holding this trophy, it really is amazing,” she added.
Moreover, she also hoped that her AO win would inspire young kids to take up the racket sport in the near future. “I’m a little girl from the south side of Chicago. Winning this title in Melbourne, I hope this inspires people,” Townsend concluded.
Apart from her singles campaign in Indian Wells, she will also appear in the doubles category with Siniakova. Does that mean the pair is about to clinch their third WTA title of 2025? What do you think of their prospects? Let us know in the comments below.
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