Routliffe loses doubles final in Ostrava but hits a new career high ranking

Another career high ranking beckons for New Zealand tennis player Erin Routliffe despite losing the doubles final at the WTA 500 tournament in Ostrava in the Czech Republic overnight.

Routliffe and her American partner Caitlyn Christian have been beaten 6-3 6-2 by former world number one ranked Indian Sania Mirza and current US Open champion Zhang Shuai.

The 26-year-old Kiwi and Christian now head to the United States for the WTA 500 tournament in Chicago. Routliffe will improve a further 12 places in the doubles rankings to 55 after starting the week in the Czech Republic ranked 67. It’s been a meteoric rise for Routliffe who was ranked 108 before the US Open.

She reached the third round in New York with Canadian partner Leylah Fernandez, who went on to finish runner up in singles. She then teamed with Belgian Kimberly Zimmerman and finished runner up in Luxembourg last week, before making the final with Caitlyn Christian this morning in Ostrava.