Rio Olympics 2016, Tennis: Five women’s doubles teams who can win medals

#3 Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova (Russia)

Vesnina rank: 8, Makarova rank: 17

Russia might be embroiled in a murky doping scandal that has resulted in its athletics team being barred from the Olympics. But the country can certainly dream of making amends in other sports, if they are ultimately not stripped off that chance.

The Russian duo of Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova became a major force on the Tour after the 2012 London Olympics. 2013 was the first time they tasted glory in women’s doubles at the Majors when they lifted the French Open trophy. And they subsequently went on to add the 2014 US Open title.

With no Olympic medal in their kitty, there’s no doubt that the soon-to-be 30 Vesnina and the 28-year-old Makarova would be hungry get one this time. And they have been getting some valuable momentum at the right time.

In their last five tournaments, they have not lost before the quarter-finals which include a runner-up finish at the French Open and a quarter-final appearance at Wimbledon. It is suffice to say that this right hand-left hand combination will settle for nothing less than a medal.

About the author

Sudeshna is a veteran Indian Sports and International Tennis journalist as well as editor at Sportskeeda. She has an overall experience of over 10 years with top publications like The Bridge, Fox Sports Asia, and gained a keen interest in Indian sports since the 2002 Commonwealth and Asian Games when she was in school.

Sudeshna holds a Master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. She attends tournaments regularly and being a highly experienced journalist, she ensures she only contacts the correct people from her network for the most authentic information to be put in her articles.

Sudeshna’s favorite Indian athlete is PV Sindhu owing to her big-tournament performances. She also admires Tennis legend Rafael Nadal for his resilience and has witnessed the Spaniard in action at the French Open, due to which, Roland Garros is her all-time favorite Grand Slam tournament.

Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal win at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics made a lasting impact on Sudeshna. She has also interviewed him along with Badminton star Chirag Shetty and several other sports personalities. She has done on-ground reporting on multiple ITF tournaments along with the Premier Badminton League, Asian Boxing Championships and the Davis Cup.

When not using her skills and years of experience in crafting compelling content, Sudeshna likes to read, watch movies and travel.

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Edited by Staff Editor