Five of the most underrated doubles teams on tour

From the great Aussie pairings of the past to Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver to the Bryan brothers, doubles has seen its share of dominant pairings. While many partnerships have fought their way to Hall-of-Fame-worthy careers, an even greater number have carved out a place for themselves with results that might have been overlooked.

Here’s five underrated pairings that managed to make a name for themselves with some noteworthy accomplishments.

1

Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski

From the time they won their first doubles title together at home in Sopot until their last final together in 2014, “Polish Power” was one of the most consistent teams on the ATP Tour. They reached 38 career championship matches together, including their best showings in 2011, when the duo finished as runner-ups at the US Open and the ATP Finals.

2

Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau

Teaming up on a full-time basis in 2010, the Swedish-Romanian pair showed their versatility right from the start, winning their first title together on clay in Morocco, then reaching the final at Wimbledon a couple of months later. They replicated that feat in London the next two years, while winning multiple titles around the world, but never took home a major together. Lindstedt and Tecau finally broke through at the Grand Slam level in the mid-2010s with different partners.

3

Conchita Martinez and Patricia Tarabini

Martinez was best known for her singles results, winning Wimbledon and reaching two other major finals to consistently finish in the Top 10. The Spaniard was also a strong performer on the doubles court, peaking at No. 7 in the world in the early ‘90s. She advanced to Grand Slam finals with two separate partners, but had some of her steadiest results with Argentina’s Tarabini. The duo reached 10 finals as a team and were regular participants at the season-ending championships for several years.

4

Grant Connell and Patrick Galbraith

For a couple of years in the early 1990s, Connell and Galbraith were among the best in the business, with each of them reaching the top spot in the rankings in 1993. The Canadian-American pair reached finals on every surface, including two in a row on grass at Wimbledon. However, they were unable to seal the deal in those major championship matches as their biggest rivals at the time, eventual Hall of Famers Mark and Todd Woodbridge, stopped them both times.

5

Raquel Atawo and Abigail Spears

Though they never reached a Grand Slam final, the American pair was routinely in the mix at tournaments around the globe for close to a decade. They reached 21 finals as a team, with their two biggest titles coming in Cincinnati and Tokyo. Atawo and Spears also posted some solid results at the majors as they reached the semifinals on three occasions.