NEW YORK – Gabriella Dubrowski and Erin Rootliff won the US Open Women’s Doubles title for the first time in three years, ending Taylor Townsend’s whirlwind stint.
Third seeded Dubrowski and Rootliff defeated top-ranked Townsend and Senior Koba 6-4, 6-4 on their fun final Friday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Dabrowski and Routliffe then hugged and celebrated Dabrowski’s first major victory since being treated for breast cancer. She delayed some of that treatment and was able to compete at Wimbledon last year, where she and Rooliff reached the final.
Townsend and Siniakova were aiming to add a US open title to their resumes after winning Wimbledon and the Australian Open in January last year.
Townsend became one of the faces of the tournament thanks to a post-match altercation that she hoped would never happen in the early days of singlesplay. Townsend, a black man, said Latvian opponent Jelena Ostapenko told her “no class” and “no education.”
The 29-year-old admitted, “It was the stigma of our community, the stigma of our community, when it was the farthest from the truth,” and said he didn’t do that. Townsend’s online has grown exponentially, with her support from fellow players, and Ostapenko ultimately apologized on social media.
Townsend reached the fourth round in the singles, losing to Barbora Krejcikova on Sunday when he failed to convert eight match points. It would have been Townsend’s first solo quarterfinal appearance in the majors.
In doubles, Townsend and Senior Koba reached their fifth final in the Grand Slam, and ended up with much talk about the wild card run, eliminating Venus Williams and Leila Fernandez along the way. Williams played at age 45, and Fernandez drew a huge crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium as a fan favorite.
Dabrowski, a 33-year-old Canadian, and Routliffe, a 30-year-old from New Zealand, split a million dollars. This is the same prize money as the winner on the final Saturday of the men. Marcel Granolas and Horacio Zeboros are Joe Salisbury and Neilskepski.
