Champions Corner: How Dabrowski/Routliffe found balance on and off court

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe came in as the No.2 seeds at the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF. They walked away as the champions, running through a dramatic doubles tournament to finish a perfect 5-0 at the season-ending championships. 

It was a fairytale finish to a 2024 campaign that didn't always go according to plan, but one which saw the Canadian-New Zealand duo learn to laugh and let go. 

"We found some newfound perspective and we've learned to enjoy the hard moments and embrace the challenge," Routliffe told WTA Insider. "We're trying to enjoy it no matter what, even if we aren't."

That happy-go-lucky mindset was on full display in their dominant performance in the final, where they avenged their Wimbledon final loss to Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend to win 7-5, 6-3. Shanked overheads were met with a shrug. When Siniakova and Townsend came up with otherworldly shots on key points, Routliffe laughed. 

After squandering two championship points to give Siniakova and Townsend a sniff at a comeback, Dabrowski smiled as she prepared to serve. The 32-year-old from Ottawa landed a good first serve and the title was theirs. 

"It's definitely the experience, because you can't just wake up one day and be like that," Routliffe said. "I think it's an active choice that you make, every single practice, every single match you play together. 

"We're pretty good about having difficult discussions. It's an active choice you make but it's also the experience as well. That probably showed our entire year. We had a break, Gaby missed the clay, and ultimately it showed this week. When we were nervous, we still stuck together and we still committed to our game plan."

Dabrowski is the first to acknowledge how big of a shift she's made mentally on the court. One of the most committed and intense competitors on the doubles circuit, Dabrowski credits the lessons learned from her tight performance in last year's WTA Finals. 

"Last year, when we played Melichar-Martinez and Perez in the semifinals, I got in my own way in that match," Dabrowski said. "But I learned from that really quickly and I took that to Billie Jean King Cup. I've tried throughout this year to apply some of those hard truths, which is: You have the tendency to get in your own way so how do you stop doing that? 

"I'm my own worst critic, I always have been. It's a learned behavior but it's also a protective mechanism. I'm learning now over the last few years to be kinder to myself and I realized that my best tennis comes out when I have that mentality."

Dabrowski and Routliffe teamed up in the summer of 2023 and burst through immediately, winning their first Grand Slam doubles title in just their fourth tournament as a team. For Dabrowski, the victory felt like the crowning achievement of a dedicated career. For Routliffe, the win served as a springboard. The 29-year-old contemplated retirement as recently as two years ago, but after finding the perfect chemistry with Dabrowski, she soared up the rankings to become New Zealand's first Hologic WTA Tour World No.1 this year. 

"Two years ago, if you told me this was happening I would not have believed you," Routliffe said. "It's a testament to years and years of working and learning myself and what works for me. Having people around me that believe in me no matter what. Gaby taking a chance on me when my ranking was probably not as high as she would have liked in our partnership. 

"It does feel kind of far away now, but it was so recent. I will never forget that and I don't take any of it for granted. It's been a quick rise to the top of the game. I'm excited for more."

Routliffe will now head home to the apartment she owns with her sister in Montreal and kick up her feet. Her reward for a long and grueling season? Living life as a complete couch potato for a couple of weeks. 

As for Dabrowski, she will head straight to Malaga, Spain, where she'll do everything in her power to help Canada defend its Billie Jean King Cup title. 

"There's definitely a lot of gratefulness that I feel for still being able to play at a high level and play with a great partner and have a great support system around us," Dabrowski said. "It's not easy to find that in our sport. So overall, it's that enjoyment of the moment, which has now come more consistently and more naturally than it has before."