Taylor Townsend debuts at doubles world No. 1 after winning Washington title
American Taylor Townsend debuted at doubles world No. 1 Monday after winning the title in Washington, D.C., becoming the 50th player and the 13th American to hold that distinction in the history of the WTA rankings. The milestone creates a full-circle moment for the Chicago native 13 years after she reigned as the junior world No. 1.
“It is a dream,” Townsend said, as quoted on WTATennis.com. “It’s one of the goals that I set for myself when I actually began to think it was attainable.”
With her usual partner, previous world No. 1 Katerina Siniakova, playing singles in Prague, Townsend teamed with China's Zhang Shuai for the first time in Washington and ran the table with four wins in the U.S. capital. The second seeds dropped just one set on the week, when they beat Venus Williams and Hailey Baptiste in a match tiebreak in the second round, and clinched the title with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Americans Caroline Dolehide and Sofia Kenin on Sunday.
Townsend is also the first mom to reach doubles No. 1. She returned to the WTA Tour in April 2022 after giving birth to her son, Adyn Aubrey, the previous year. Since returning, she has reached the women's doubles quarterfinals or better at the majors nine times, having previously advanced to that stage just twice.
"Thank you Adyn for giving me a new purpose!" the American wrote in an Instagram post celebrating her rise to No. 1.
Taylor Townsend in Washington, D.C. Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images.
Townsend won her first Grand Slam crown last year at Roland Garros with Siniakova and also partnered with the Czech to win the Australian Open this season.
She will next compete for a major crown on home soil at the 2025 US Open, where she hopes to compete in singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles. She and compatriot Ben Shelton are on the entry list for the new-look US Open Mixed Doubles Championship, which will be held Aug. 19-20 with $1 million in prize money on offer for the winning team.
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