Dabrowski and Routliffe’s off-court bond carries them through Wimbledon doubles play

Open this photo in gallery: Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski, left, kept her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment private for months while she underwent two surgeries in 2024. Among the few who knew was her doubles partner, Erin Routliffe.Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Partnerships in doubles tennis tend to come and go, but Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe have developed a bond that transcends sport.

The two have been playing together as a team for nearly two years, which is eons in professional tennis, where players often team up only for a single tournament. On Monday they were back on court at Wimbledon, defeating Irina Khromacheva and Fanny Stollar – 7-6, 7-6 – to advance to the quarter-finals for the second straight year.

What has kept them together is a deeply personal commitment that started last year when Dabrowski, 32, was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The Ottawa native kept her illness private for months while she underwent two surgeries in a Florida hospital in May, 2024. Among the few who knew was Routliffe.

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“I just wanted to support Gaby in whatever way she needed with all of that. And so tennis kind of was on the side a little bit,” recalled Routliffe, a 30-year old New Zealander. “It was a wake up call. I’d never known anyone close to me, or even anyone below the age of 40 or 50, that’s had a scare like that.”

The pair resumed playing together shortly after Dabrowski’s operations and they made it to the doubles final at Wimbledon in July. Dabrowski went on to win a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics in mixed doubles with Felix Auger-Aliassime, who was unaware of her cancer. She then returned to Florida in August for radiation treatment.

She and Routliffe teamed up again later that month at the U.S. Open, where they made it to the quarter-finals. They advanced to the semi-finals at a couple of tournaments in Asia and then won the WTA Tour Final title in November where they were named doubles team of the year.

On New Year’s Eve, Dabrowski went public with her cancer battle via a social-media post titled “The Unseen of 2024.″

Her surgeries and radiation have been successful although she’s still receiving hormonal therapy that’s expected to run for five years. “I’m feeling pretty good,” she said after Monday’s match. “I have checkups every six months and I have monthly self exams.”

She didn’t know any other athlete who was going through similar cancer treatment and there were no players to turn to for advice on rehabilitation or recovery. But since revealing her own cancer story she’s been quietly fielding questions from some players who have loved ones facing the disease.

Open this photo in gallery: The bond that Routliffe, left, and Dabrowski share was on display on Monday, as the duo won their two tie breakers convincingly; 7-1, and 7-2.Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

“They have asked me questions about how I feel on the medication. What supplements am I taking? What do I do to sleep better?” she said. “I’m definitely open to being a resource.”

Both players said that being back at Wimbledon this year has taken on new significance, and they feel they can overcome almost anything on the court. They also stood by each other earlier this year while both recovered from rib injuries – Routliffe was injured during the WTA Finals and Dabrowski hurt her ribs in June when the pair reached the title match of a tournament in Stuttgart, Germany.

“When you see people when they’re vulnerable, and at their lowest, and struggling, I think that bonds you together,” said Routliffe. “And so we know how to support each other in those big moments and what we both need from each other. And we have a safe space of communication, where we feel like we can say what we need to say, and no one’s going to take it really personally.”

She added that Dabrowski’s relatively quick recovery and their subsequent success on the court “showed that we can do anything as a team.”

The strength of their partnership came through during Monday’s match. Both sets were close but the pair won the two tie breakers convincingly; 7-1, and 7-2.

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“We handled the moment very well, and I think we stepped up to close out both of those sets and played very clinically, and that’s the way we want to play,” Dabrowski said.

They’ve advanced to at least to the quarter-finals of every Grand Slam they’ve competed in and they won the U.S. Open title in 2023.

On Tuesday they face Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens, who lost to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round of singles on Sunday.

They’ve never played that pair before and feel excited about the challenge. “We’ll see how our game style matches up against theirs. I’m really curious to see how it’ll go on the grass for us,” Dabrowski said.

On Monday as they left the court after their victory, they waved to a group of friends up in the stands. Then they stopped just before the entrance. Dabrowski pulled out her cellphone and they posed for a selfie, smiling and flashing a V for victory sign.

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