Me and my shadow: the most famous twins in professional sports

When you see them on the TV screen, your eyes go wild. Brothers and sisters with almost identical looks and high results on the big sports arena are not so rare. Some of them decided not to be separated and work in the same team to achieve a common result. Others have to keep a balance between competition in individual sports and camaraderie in family relationships. About how the careers of famous twins have turned out, – in our selection.

Kirill and Dmitry Kombarov

Both brothers are pupils of the Spartak soccer school, where they got there thanks to their father’s close acquaintance with head coach Nikolai Parshin. But their first Spartak period in their careers did not last long: the Kombarov brothers scandalously left for Dynamo in 2004. The reason for the conflict was Parshin’s opinion that Kirill and Dmitry were unpromising. However, not even six years passed, as Kombarovs returned to the Red-White team. There were reasons for that, because the team was playing in the Champions League, and this is a big chance for development. The $10m transfer was extremely successful for both twins, but Dmitri showed a stronger start. Their contract expired only this year, after which the brothers went their separate ways. Dmitri – to Krylia Sovetov Samara, and Kirill – to Arsenal Tula.

Kristina and Karolina Pliskova

The Czech twin tennis players started their career as a pair, but then decided to try their luck with other partners. There have been times when the Pliskovs have had to play against each other. Karolina won five of the nine matches. Kristina is older than her sister by two minutes, but it so happened that Karolina has always shown the best individual results in the sport. For example, at the end of 2017, the senior was ranked 61st in singles and 76th in doubles, while the junior was ranked 8th in singles and 205th in doubles.

Brooke and Robin Lopez

The two USA Basketball brothers played for the same team, the Stanford Cardinal, during their college years. Lopez together grew to the NBA level, but for a long time were in the composition of different clubs. Brook played for the Milwaukee Bucks and Robin played for the Chicago Bulls. And only this summer they reunited: before the start of the season Robin moved to his brother’s team. However, even within the same club, Brook will receive this year almost three times more than Robin: $ 12 million against $ 5 million.

Angela and Amber Cope

You might not think at first glance that Angela and Amber look like professional race car drivers. But they are. In 2010, Cope became the first twins in history to compete in a single NASCAR race. It took place in the Camping World Truck Series at Martinsville. The whole point is that the Cope family is a whole dynasty of high-class pilots. His grandfather and his brothers favored motorcycles and owned an auto store, and the girls’ father was a Daytona 500 winner. Therefore, Angela and Amber did not bide their time for long and came to motorsports at the age of nine, starting with karting.

Alexei and Vasily Berezutsky

In July 2018, the legendary Berezutsky brothers announced the end of their soccer career. Alexei and Vasily played a full 16 years for CSKA Moscow and 13 years for the Russian national team. The brothers played a key role in the defense of both teams and spent on the field more than 500 matches each. They can safely be called the most decorated players in Russian soccer after Sergei Ignashevich. The Berezutskys are six-time Russian champions, seven-time Russian Cup winners, six-time Russian Super Cup winners, UEFA Cup winners and European Championship bronze medalists. After the end of their careers, Alexey and Vasily joined the coaching staff of Dutch soccer club Vitesse.

Henrik and Daniel Sedin

The Swedish brothers took their affinity for hockey from their father, Tommy Sedin. In the 1970s he played in the lower divisions, after which he finished his career. His older brother Peter also tried his hand at the family sport, but went no further than the youth team “MODO”. Henrik and Daniel, in turn, have achieved more: the brothers played in Vancouver, became Olympic champions in 2006 and took gold at the World Championships as part of the national team in 2013. Daniel also won silver at the Sochi Olympics. A year ago, the twins ended their careers.

Bob and Mike Bryan

These brothers formed an unrivaled team in men’s doubles tennis. They collected every possible title in a career that is still ongoing, playing 1,100 games on the court. The Bryans have made more than 100 ATP and Grand Slam finals, are 16-time winners of tennis’ most prestigious tournament and won the Davis Cup with Team USA in 2007. In addition, the left-handed Bob was able to prove himself in singles tennis.

Valentina and Vita Semerenko

The twin sisters were part of the Ukrainian relay team that won gold at the Sochi Olympics. Despite such team success in 2014, Valentina usually performs more successfully than Vita. In 2015, Valya Semerenko won the title of world champion.

The fate of twin athletes is different. Rarely do they go side by side in terms of results, because it is impossible to show the same technique and perseverance throughout their careers. But, as we can see, siblings, who are hard to distinguish at first glance, are perfectly able to compete on the field, court or track and respect and support each other off the court.