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

#4 Lucie Hradecka and Andrea Hlavackova (Czech Republic)

Hradecka rank: 9, Hlavackova rank: 10

What it feels like to win a medal at the Olympics, the Czech pair of Lucie Hradecka and Andrea Hlavackova certainly knows. The two scooped up the silver medal at London four years ago after succumbing to the formidable Williams sisters 4-6, 4-6 in the summit clash.

That year was one of the best seasons of this partnership who went on to finish 2012 with five finals that included two Grand Slams as well. Four years on, these two-time Grand Slam champions began the 2016 season with a bang where they reached the final of the Australian Open in January. But since then, consistency has been missing from this pair even though they did win titles on clay and grass.

They can still be one of the best bets for a medal. Having known each other since kids on the Tour, they know how to bring out the best from each other. Additionally, they have an US Open title on their resume that was won on a surface that closely resembles the fast hardcourts to be used at Rio. And that can be a big boost to their confidence.

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