Serena and Venus Williams were the two-time defending champions and number one seeds in the women's doubles, but they lost in the first round to Czech pairing Lucie Šafářová and Barbora Strýcová. The defeat ended the sisters' 15 match winning streak in women's doubles at the Olympics, and also marked their first loss together in Olympic competition. Russian duo Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina won the gold medal, defeating Timea Bacsinszky and Martina Hingis in the final, 6–4, 6–4. Martina Hingis had been attempting to become just the fifth woman to complete the Career Golden Slam in doubles.