The phrase ‘everything comes in pairs’ applies to most things in life, and sport is no exception, with sporting duos being some of the most iconic partnerships on the planet. While working together as part of the same team requires both sportsmen and women to cooperate in harmony, the competitive nature of elite sport often disrupts that. Here's a selection of duos across a variety of sports, taking a deep dive into the relationship between the pairs.

The Williams Sisters

Despite there being plenty of excellent duos in tennis - such as the Bryan twins, McEnroe and Fleming, and the 8-time consecutive major title winners Navratilova and Shriver - it’s impossible to look beyond the Williams sisters. The records and statistics in relation to the pair are quite simply ridiculous; both sisters have been ranked world No. 1 in singles: Venus for a total of 11 weeks, Serena for a total of 316 weeks. Furthermore, Venus has won 49 singles titles over the course of her career, and Serena a staggering 73. Their longevity is also mind-boggling, with Serena having enjoyed a professional career just a month short of 27 years, and Venus still going 30 years into hers.

“Both sisters have a ruthless competitive streak”

Despite the two personally being very close and often playing as doubles partners (winning just the 22 titles together, including 14 majors and three Olympic gold medals), their relationship was also very much a sporting rivalry - with both sisters having a ruthless competitive streak. Between 1998 and 2020, the pair met 31 times in professional tournaments, with Serena slightly edging her sister with 19 victories versus 12 for Venus. Additionally, the Williams sisters are the only two women during the Open Era to contest four consecutive major finals - from the 2002 French Open to the 2003 Australian Open, Serena being victorious on each occasion.

Hamilton vs Rosberg

Between 2013 and 2016 this was a duo and rivalry which dominated Formula One, especially following the introduction of new regulations from 2014 onwards as Mercedes led the rest of the field.

2014 saw numerous memorable moments between the pair, including their duel in Bahrain, a team orders debacle at the Hungaroring, and perhaps the climax occurring at Spa when Rosberg collided with Hamilton around Les Combes. The German had to swallow his pride and apologise, yet Team Principal Toto Wolff added a sinister edge to the incident by saying this ‘cannot and will not happen again’. In the end, Hamilton would be victorious in 2014 and 2015, with ever-intense duels on the track and a growing tension in the pair’s relationship barely hidden from the cameras.

2016, the final year of the duo’s spell as teammates, was captivating once again - featuring several flashpoints between the pair. Perhaps most memorably, there was a huge collision in Barcelona as Hamilton attempted - and failed - to pass Rosberg, allowing a certain 18-year-old Max Verstappen to win his first ever Grand Prix. There was another clash, albeit less serious, between the pair in Austria, but beyond that, this was another very close season - going right down to the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi, where Nico Rosberg won the World Driver’s Championship (in his own words) “in equal machinery” to Hamilton. After what turned out to be a gruelling and exhausting season, Rosberg immediately retired, shocking the motorsport world.

‘Robbery’

Between 2009 and 2019, a period in which Bayern Munich dominated domestic football (winning eight out of ten titles) and was a serious force on the continental stage (reaching three finals and four semi-finals), two players arguably rose above their peers in the Bavarian team.

Franck Ribery at left wing and Arjen Robben on the right had a combined 268 goals and 284 assists during their time at Bayern. Before their respective injury problems later in their careers, the pair enjoyed their prime years between the 2009/10 season and the 2012/13 season, reaching the Champions League Final three times in this period.

Interestingly, in the first two finals, Ribery was not available for one and was forced off due to injury in the second. Bayern lost both finals. In the third final at Wembley in 2013, however, with both men fully fit and playing, it would only be fitting that Ribery assisted Robben to score the winner against their domestic rivals Borussia Dortmund.

The ‘Robbery’ duo - as they were affectionately called by the Bayern fans - did wind down, though towards the end of their careers, and injuries and age took a bit of the spark out of the pair’s previously electric nature. However, in their final game together, both players came off the bench to score, marking a fine end to their illustrious partnership in Bavaria.

Glover and Stanning

Helen Glover and Heather Stanning formed an unstoppable rowing pair, being perhaps best remembered for winning the first gold medal for Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics. Beyond this remarkable achievement the duo can boast a litany of other successes. Four years later in Rio, they defended their Olympic Gold, becoming the first British oarswomen to become back-to-back Olympic Champions.

“Stanning deployed to Afghanistan in 2013- in the middle of her rowing career!”

Upon the end of their partnership, the pair’s unbeaten record stretched over 5 years and 39 races, and only finally, after retaining Olympic Gold at Rio, did Stanning and Glover hang up their oars as a duo. Another interesting element about the pair is their respective backgrounds - with Glover being married to the one and only Steve Backshall, and Stanning having balanced her rowing career with being a Captain in the Royal Artillery, deploying to Afghanistan in 2013- in the middle of her rowing career!

Ennis-Hill and Johnson-Thompson

Once more harking back to London 2012, this time to the heptathlete duo of Jessica Ennis-Hill and Katarina Johnson-Thompson. Beyond both having double-barreled surnames, the pair have a level of athletic endurance that few other duos can match (apart from maybe the Brownlee brothers). Perhaps Ennis-Hill is the better remembered of the pair, writing herself into Olympic history as one of the three British Gold Medal winners on Super Saturday, yet KJT is by no means in her shadow.

KJT is more than capable of holding a candle to Ennis-Hill; her achievements in Heptathlon events include being a double world champion, double Commonwealth Games champion and an Olympic and European silver medallist. In indoor pentathlon, she is also a world and double European champion. The only question is, with Ennis-Hill’s retirement nearly 10 years ago, will KJT be able to win an Olympic gold before her retirement and equal her former rival? The added challenge is that Ennis-Hill lost her Olympic Gold to the Belgian star Nafissatou Thiam, and Thiam (who is roughly the same age as KJT) is still going strong and racking up Olympic medals. We will see at the Los Angeles 2028 games!