Gabriela Dabrowski’s journey at the French Open came to a close on Friday, marked by a decisive defeat in the women’s doubles semifinals.
The reigning world No. 1 duo, Katerina Siniakova from Czechia and American Taylor Townsend, decisively overwhelmed Dabrowski and her Brazilian partner Luisa Stefani with a score of 6-0, 6-1.
As she departs Paris and prepares for the grass-court season, the Canadian tennis star can reflect on a semifinal appearance and a mixed doubles final as highlights of her fortnight.
“If someone had told us back in April, when we were recovering from injuries, that we’d be winning in Strasbourg and making it to the semis here at the French Open, I think we would’ve accepted that without hesitation,” said the 34-year-old from Ottawa, who walks away with nearly 105,500 euros (C$170,000) in earnings from both tournaments.
“I’m truly proud of our hard work that brought us this far,”
Both Dabrowski and Stefani missed the chance to represent their countries in the Billie Jean King Cup in April.
Struggling with injuries, Dabrowski faced a foot issue that limited her pre-season training and made her arrival in Melbourne for the start of the season delayed. Additionally, she has been dealing with a knee concern and a plantar fascia tear in her left foot.
The duo also had to forgo the WTA 1000 event in Madrid, having last competed at the Miami Open in late March, followed by an early exit at the WTA 1000 in Rome last month.
They did, however, clinch the title at a WTA 500 tournament in Strasbourg just before the French Open.
This victory and their semifinal performance in Paris will elevate Dabrowski from No. 6 to No. 3 in the WTA doubles rankings, just behind Siniakova and Townsend.
It’s uncommon for the Canadian-Brazilian pair to struggle from a slow start or to find it difficult to counter a formidable opponent.
Adding to their challenges, Stefani fell ill on Thursday night, affecting her performance at the most crucial moment.
“Today’s match was heavily influenced by how well they played. They served excellently and made it tough for us to find our rhythm,” Dabrowski remarked.
“We need to work on a few things to elevate our game in the upcoming weeks.”
Siniakova and Townsend, who will compete in their first French Open final as a team on Sunday, dominated with a remarkable 90 percent success rate on their first serves. In contrast, Dabrowski and Stefani managed only 42 percent and faced six breaks from eight opportunities.
“They must have an off day; it’s challenging to defeat them when they’re playing at such a high level,” Dabrowski noted.
“You naturally want them to falter and second-guess themselves, but today we couldn’t make that happen. Hopefully, we’ll get another chance to face them, and we can devise a strategy for it.”
The match’s duration clocked in at exactly one hour, largely due to Stefani’s comfort break after the first set.
“Today served as a valuable lesson. We hope to recover soon and apply what we’ve learned as we gaze toward Wimbledon. Overall, the results have certainly exceeded expectations,” Dabrowski concluded.
On Thursday, Dabrowski and her mixed doubles partner Evan King faced the world’s top team, Italians Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani, and pushed them to a match tiebreak before ultimately falling short.
Dabrowski and King, both born in 1992, are familiar faces from their junior days.
“We’re not particularly close friends, but we’ve crossed paths on all circuits throughout our careers,” she shared.
Dabrowski’s coach, Dan Kiernan, also trains men’s doubles expert Andre Goransson of Sweden, who happens to be a close friend of King’s.
