Returning US Open champion Erin Routliffe reflects on turning point title

New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe is gearing up to return to the US Open, where she made history last year by winning her first Grand Slam title in women’s doubles with partner Gaby Dabrowski. 

The victory was not only a milestone moment for Routliffe but also a turning point in her career, which helped her get to No 1 in the world rankings. 

As she prepares to defend her title, Routliffe has reflected on what happened in New York 12 months ago.

“It’s a place with obviously good memories, and I’m really excited,” Routliffe said. 

“There’s going to be a lot of hype around it, there always is with slams. Obviously, if you’re the defending champ, there’s going to be even more hype, but we’re going to try and stay in our circle and focus on the things we can control, and that’s playing each match as it comes.” 

Routliffe feels the victory at the US Open was a defining moment in her career, not only because it was a grand slam win, but it showed how good she and Dabrowski can be as a team. 

“I think most people would remember their first slam win, and hopefully I can get some more,” Routliffe said. 

“I have amazing memories there, and it definitely was a turning point. It catapulted Gaby and I’s partnership. We’ve won more after that and made finals, but it showed that we are arguably one of the best teams in the world. So it was a career changer for sure.”

Routliffe and Dabrowski were able to build on the momentum of their grand slam success. They got to play in the WTA Finals last year and last month reached the Wimbledon final.

Although they lost that match, it did propel Routliffe to No 1 in the world rankings, while last week Routliffe won the Cincinnati Open with Asia Muhammad, for her first WTA 1000 title, having previously lost four finals at that level.

“It was fun, it was amazing,” Routliffe said of Cincinnati. 

“It was a goal I had, so to be able to do that was nice, and to do it with one of my best friends, that was also really nice. 

“It was our first tournament ever playing together, we didn’t really have any pressure. We were both swinging free and really enjoying our time, and it obviously paid off.”

Despite those four losses in WTA 1000 finals before Cincinnati (three with Dabrowski and one with Coco Gauff), Routliffe said those results weren’t playing on her mind.

“I’d probably never win one if I thought like that,” she said when asked if she ever worried about winning a WTA 1000 final. 

“I know my best tennis is in front of me, and everybody gets nervous in the bigger rounds. In finals, you get a little bit more nervous because the title is on the line. 

“But also, at the end of the day, you know you’ve won a lot of matches to get to the finals. So hopefully I can get a couple more with Gaby too.”

This past 12 months wasn’t just about grand slams and WTA titles for Routliffe, it also included a dream come true, to compete at the Olympics. Representing New Zealand alongside Lulu Sun, Routliffe faced a challenging first-round draw, going up against the eventual champions from Italy Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in the first round.

But despite this Routliffe relished the Olympic experience. 

“That’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while, and to be able to do it off the end of a year of good results, I was really happy. It was an amazing experience,” she said. 

Routliffe said going to the Games fuelled her desire to compete at the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028 and she said she enjoyed being able to watch other athletes in action in Paris.

“I went to the rugby sevens when they won the gold, so that was awesome,” she said.

“I went to the beach volleyball and a little bit of swimming, and then I watched a bit of tennis. I watched Gaby after, so I watched a couple of events, and that was nice.”