There are very few sibling duos in the tennis arena who have managed to play at the professional level and even fewer who have achieved significant success together. One such powerhouse pair is Kristyna and Karolina Pliskova. As Karolina Pliskova continues her remarkable journey at the Nottingham Open, her elder sister Kristyna has also carved out an impressive career, garnering several accolades along the way.

Born on March 21, 1992, Kristyna is just two minutes older than Karolina. Krystina picked up racquets at the tender age of 4 and established herself as a remarkable player. In her career, she won one singles and five doubles titles on the WTA Tour, with nine singles titles and eight doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. Krystna also proved her mettle in the tennis arena having reached a career-best ranking of 35 in 2017. But the most interesting fact about her is the record that she holds. 

Kristyna has the highest total of aces in one WTA match – against Monica Puig at the 2016 Australian Open, she hit a total of 31 aces. While she could not win the match, her record remains strong even now. The rivalry between the two sisters has also remained in the spotlight. Karolina and Kristyna have faced each other 9 times on the WTA tour. In 2019, they became the first identical twins in WTA Tour history to play each other in a main draw match. However, their on-court rivalry does not seem to impact their bond.

In an interview, Kristyna said that the ranking of her sister does not impact their relationship. “I don’t see her as a top-three player, just my sister,” explained Kristyna. “If I would beat someone [else] No. 1 or No. 2, I would be extremely happy, but like this I’m normal.” Karolina also expressed similar sentiments. “It doesn’t matter if she beats me, or if I win, it will continue to be this way – so the tennis should not be in the way.” Meanwhile, the sisters had a great time at the French Open, where they reached the quarterfinals in the doubles tournament. As for her personal life, besides being a star player, Kristyna is also a proud mother. 

Married to footballer David Hancko, the Czech gave birth to her son Adam in May 2022. She has often been seen posting cute pictures with her growing family. Off the court, Kristyna is fond of listening to music and watching movies. The Notebook and Gladiator stand out as her top-ranked movies. Meanwhile, her sister Karolina, who hates on-court coaching, has been on an impressive run at the Nottingham Open. 

When Karolina Pliskova opened up about her experience with on-court coaching

Pliskova, who missed a majority of her season due to a broken arm in 2022, and called off her venture early in 2023 due to her wrist injury hates on-court coaching. In a 2023 interview with Tennis Net, she talked about the implementation of on-court coaching and how she responds to it.

Speaking in the interview, she said, “I hate it! Sascha often wants me to come see him, but I never do. I like to look for solutions myself. If he tells me how to play the next point and then I lose it… I’m even more annoyed. I prefer not to talk to him during matches.” Pliskova split with her former coach Sascha Bajin in July of last year and paired up with Zeljko Krajan. However, she admitted to listening to advice when absolutely necessary. “But of course, if the opponent hits really well and I can’t do much to counter it, I listen to what he says.”

While the Pliskova sisters have continued to complement each other through their games and partnerships, it will be interesting to see if they pair up once again and demonstrate a similar gameplay at Wimbledon.