The Olympic twins that have opponents seeing double

livemint.com:

PARIS—The Americans have a secret advantage in doubles badminton at these Olympics: None of their opponents have any idea which player on the court is which. Annie and Kerry Xu developed their chemistry not on the badminton court but in the womb. They are identical twins, a fact that is more than just a fun piece of trivia.

Their shared DNA lets them disguise their skills and befuddle their opponents. In fact, it might be the superpower that propelled them to the Paris Games. “In the heat of the moment," said Kerry, “it’s basically impossible for opponents to tell us apart." The Xu sisters’ indistinguishable features give them an edge that can’t be taught or practiced.

The best doubles teams feature players with complementary skill sets. Annie is canny and clever around the net, parrying away the other teams’ shots. Kerry’s job is to supply the muscle.

Typically, the players on the other side of the net know what to expect from each of their opponents. But since the Xus have the same face, Kerry said, “We can use the shots we like without them anticipating those moves." Growing up, the Xu sisters always dreamed about playing in the Olympics. But when they started college—together, of course, at the University of California, Berkeley—they thought they were ready to move on and stopped pursuing competitive badminton to focus on their studies.

After graduation, the sisters found jobs outside of sports. But following the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, they realized they still had the itch to smack a shuttlecock across a net for hours on end—and that they could still do it at a high level. So they decided to end their half-decade hiatus and try for Paris 2024.