Erin Routliffe Bio
Erin Hope Routliffe (born 11 April 1995) is a professional tennis player from New Zealand who specializes in doubles and previously represented Canada. Standing 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) tall and playing right-handed with a two-handed backhand, she has become one of the leading doubles players of her generation. She has won two Grand Slam doubles titles at the 2023 and 2025 US Open, partnering with Gabriela Dabrowski, and she reached the world No. 1 ranking in doubles on 15 July 2024.
Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Routliffe grew up in Canada and represented that country in her junior and early professional years before switching her national allegiance in 2017. She is the second New Zealand woman to win a major in the Open Era, following 1979 Australian Open women’s doubles champion Judy Connor. Routliffe has won 12 WTA Tour doubles titles and reached the WTA Finals title in 2024 with Dabrowski.
Early Life and Background
Erin Hope Routliffe was born on 11 April 1995 in Auckland, New Zealand, while her parents, Robert Routliffe and Catherine MacLennan, were on an around-the-world sailing adventure. The family stayed in New Zealand for four years before returning to Canada, where she was raised. She has two sisters, Tara and Tess, both also born in Auckland. Her younger sister Tess Routliffe is an international para-swimmer, giving the family a strong multi-sport background.
Routliffe trained in Canada and made the move to Montreal in September 2011 to train at the National Training Centre, where she stayed until 2013. Her early exposure to tennis came through local and provincial events, and she quickly rose through the junior ranks, winning G4 doubles titles in Burlington, Ontario in 2010 and her first junior singles title at the same tournament a year later. She also reached the quarterfinals at junior Wimbledon and the junior US Open in 2012, signalling her potential on the international stage.
Path to Professional Tennis
Routliffe studied at the University of Alabama, majoring in public relations, and was part of its tennis team from September 2013 until her graduation in May 2017. At the collegiate level, she was a two-time NCAA doubles champion with Maya Jansen for the 2014 and 2015 seasons, giving her high-level match experience and a clear pathway to the professional tour. She also won a gold medal in singles at the 2013 Canada Summer Games in Sherbrooke.
Her transition to the professional ranks accelerated in 2016, when she reached her first professional singles final at the 25k Winnipeg Challenger and won her first professional doubles title at Charleston, South Carolina, partnering Andie Daniell. In June 2017, the ITF allowed her to change her representational nationality to her country of birth, and she made her Fed Cup debut for New Zealand later that month, dropping only one game in her opening rubber.
Erin Routliffe Career
Early Career (2017–2020)
Routliffe turned professional in 2017 and built her ranking largely on the ITF Circuit, collecting multiple doubles titles in 2017 and 2018 alongside partners such as Alexa Guarachi, Maya Jansen, and Jade Lewis. Her first WTA Tour final came at the 2018 Washington Open with Guarachi, where the pair finished as runners-up. By 2019, she was splitting time between ITF events and WTA qualifiers, learning the rhythms of the main tour.
The 2020 season was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Routliffe played a limited schedule, mainly on the ITF Circuit in New Zealand, Australia, and Europe. Despite the stop-start nature of the year, she continued to add doubles finals and titles, including a doubles win in Hamilton with Emily Fanning. These years laid the foundation for her breakthrough on the WTA Tour in 2021 and 2022.
First WTA Titles and Top 30 (2021–2022)
In 2021, Routliffe won her first WTA Tour title in doubles at the Palermo Ladies Open, teaming with Kimberley Zimmermann to defeat Natela Dzalamidze and Kamilla Rakhimova in the final. In 2022, she reached the semifinals of the Adelaide International 2 and the quarterfinals of WTA 1000 events at the Qatar Ladies Open and the Miami Open, partnering Aliccja Rosolska. She also reached her first Grand Slam doubles quarterfinal at Wimbledon 2022, becoming the first New Zealand woman since Marina Erakovic in 2011 to reach the last eight at a major.
Her biggest leap came in August 2022, when she won the Washington Open doubles title with Jessica Pegula and made her top-30 debut at world No. 29 on 8 August 2022. That ranking milestone confirmed her place among the elite doubles players on tour and set the stage for her Grand Slam breakthrough the following year.
US Open Champion and Top 20 (2023)
Routliffe began 2023 by winning the doubles title at the ATX Open with Aldila Sutjiadi and reached a WTA 1000 final at the Guadalajara Open. The defining moment of her career came in September 2023 at the US Open, where she partnered Gabriela Dabrowski to defeat Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva in the final in straight sets, claiming her first Grand Slam title. The win pushed her into the top 20 for the first time.
Partnered with Dabrowski, she also won the Zhengzhou Open to qualify for the 2023 WTA Finals in Cancún, becoming the first New Zealander to compete in the prestigious year-end event. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 11 in November 2023 after advancing to the semifinals at the WTA Finals.
World No. 1 and WTA Finals Champion (2024)
The 2024 season saw Routliffe reach new heights. She reached a second WTA 1000 final at the Miami Open with Dabrowski and another final at the Italian Open with Coco Gauff, climbing to a career-high No. 3 on 20 May 2024. In June, she won her sixth doubles title at the Nottingham Open with Dabrowski and reached No. 2 in the world. She also represented New Zealand at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
At Wimbledon 2024, Routliffe and Dabrowski reached the final, where they lost to Kateřina Siniaková and Taylor Townsend, but Routliffe became the world No. 1 in doubles on 15 July 2024, the highest ranking of her career. Later in the year, she and Dabrowski won the WTA Finals title in Riyadh, defeating Siniaková and Townsend in the final and becoming the first New Zealander to win a WTA Finals title.
Second US Open Title (2025)
Routliffe and Dabrowski opened 2025 with a semifinal appearance at the Australian Open before splitting briefly, with Routliffe winning the Charleston Open doubles title with Jeļena Ostapenko in April 2025. Reunited with Dabrowski, she then won the Stuttgart Open and, in August, the Cincinnati Open for her first WTA 1000 title with the Canadian partner.
In September 2025, Routliffe and Dabrowski captured their second US Open doubles title, defeating top seeds Siniaková and Townsend in straight sets in the final. The pair then defended their WTA Finals title in November 2025 but were eliminated in the round-robin stage with one win and two losses, finishing third in their group.
Driving Style and Strengths
Routliffe uses her 1.88 m frame and right-handed, two-handed backhand to dominate from the baseline and at the net, with particular comfort on hard courts and grass. Her serve and net play make her an ideal doubles partner, and her tactical reading of opponents has flourished alongside Gabriela Dabrowski. The pairing’s consistency under pressure and shared court sense have produced two Grand Slam titles and a WTA Finals crown.
Notable Events and Milestones
Signature moments include her 2023 and 2025 US Open doubles titles with Dabrowski, the 2024 Wimbledon doubles final that lifted her to world No. 1, and the 2024 WTA Finals victory in Riyadh. She is also the first New Zealand woman since Judy Connor in 1979 to win a Grand Slam doubles title and the first New Zealander to win a WTA Finals doubles title.
Erin Routliffe Career Wins
Erin Routliffe has won 12 WTA Tour doubles titles, including two Grand Slams at the US Open (2023, 2025), the 2024 WTA Finals, and a WTA 1000 title at the 2025 Cincinnati Open. She has also won numerous ITF doubles titles, alongside a smaller singles résumé. Her partnership with Gabriela Dabrowski accounts for the bulk of her biggest results.
Grand Slam and WTA Finals Highlights
Routliffe is a two-time US Open doubles champion (2023, 2025) and a Wimbledon doubles finalist (2024). She reached the Australian Open doubles semifinals in 2024 and 2025, the third round of the French Open in 2022 and 2024, and won the 2024 WTA Finals in Riyadh. She also reached a WTA 1000 final at the 2023 Guadalajara Open and the 2024 Miami Open, and the final of the 2022 Washington Open.
Other Wins and Performances
At the collegiate level, Routliffe was a two-time NCAA doubles champion (2014, 2015) with Maya Jansen and a 2013 Canada Summer Games singles gold medalist. She has won 16 ITF doubles titles and 1 ITF singles title, with her first professional doubles title coming in 2016 at Charleston, South Carolina, with Andie Daniell.
Erin Routliffe Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Erin Routliffe was born to Robert Routliffe and Catherine MacLennan during an around-the-world sailing adventure that took the family to Auckland, New Zealand. She has two sisters, Tara and Tess, with Tess Routliffe representing New Zealand as an international para-swimmer. The family’s strong sporting background has supported Erin throughout her tennis career.
Personal Life
Routliffe resides in Caledon, Ontario, Canada, where she continues to base her training. She is a graduate of the University of Alabama, where she majored in public relations. She has spoken about the influence of her parents and sisters in shaping her competitive drive and has maintained close ties to both Canada and New Zealand throughout her career.
2025 Season Performance
Routliffe’s 2025 season opened with a semifinal appearance at the Australian Open with Gabriela Dabrowski, followed by a split partnership that produced a Charleston Open doubles title with Jeļena Ostapenko in April. Reunited with Dabrowski, the pair won the Stuttgart Open and then captured their first WTA 1000 title together at the Cincinnati Open in August, defeating Guo Hanyu and Alexandra Panova in the final.
The high point of the year came in September, when Routliffe and Dabrowski won their second US Open doubles title, this time beating top seeds Siniaková and Townsend in straight sets. The victory reinforced their status as one of the top doubles teams in the world and pushed Routliffe back into the top 10 in the rankings.
At the year-end WTA Finals in November, the pair entered as defending champions but were eliminated in the round-robin stage with a 1-2 record, finishing third in their group. The season nonetheless cemented Routliffe’s standing as one of the leading doubles players of her era and a central figure in New Zealand tennis history.
