NEW YORK — Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe are one step closer to a second U.S. Open women's doubles title.
The third seeds rallied Tuesday to defeat the 11th-seeded Tímea Babos of Hungary and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.
In a later quarterfinal match, the wild-card ride finally ended for the women's doubles pairing of Canada's Leylah Fernandez and American legend Venus Williams. Top-seeded American Taylor Townsend and partner Katerina Siniakova of Czechia beat Fernandez and Williams 6-1, 6-2 in a 57-minute quarterfinal match on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Dabrowski and Routliffe, the 2023 U.S. Open champions, steadied after a shaky start to swing the momentum in the second set.
Tied 4-4 in the middle set, Dabrowski and Routliffe only surrendered one point — a forced error — en route to taking the lead. The duo claimed the set in the next game thanks to a forehand winner, two unforced errors from their opponents and then a backhand volley winner.
In the third set, Dabrowski and Routliffe went ahead 40-15 before Babos and Stefani rallied to force a deuce. However, back-to-back forced errors from the Hungarian-Brazilian duo sealed the victory for Dabrowski and Routliffe.
They converted two of four break chances, while Babos and Stefani managed just three of eight.
The Canadian-Kiwi duo will meet the winner of the quarterfinal between Italy’s Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini and the team of Asia Muhammad of the United States and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands.
Fernandez and Williams, playing doubles together for the first time, ran into an experienced team that showed why it's ranked No. 1 in the world.
Townsend and Siniakova finished with two aces, 11 unforced errors and a first serve points won percentage of 74. They also won five of eight return games, and reeled off 11 points in a row at one stage in the match.
Fernandez and Williams had no aces, 25 unforced errors, three double faults and a first serve points won percentage of 61.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 2, 2025.
The Canadian Press
