The WTA Finals 2024 has already provided us with numerous memorable takeaways, even before the start of the knockout stage. Apart from the action-packed tennis, one particular moment involving Erin Routliffe’s nasty fall during a doubles match has left fellow WTA stars and social media users in splits.
On Day 2 of the year-end finals in Riyadh, Routliffe and her partner Gabriela Dabrowski played their first match of the tournament against Chan Hao-ching and Veronika Kudermetova.
During one of Routliffe’s service games, Hao-ching responded to the body serve with a high-arching return. Routliffe charged to the midcourt to complete the glamorous serve-and-volley play. But Dabrowski immediately called, “me”. The Kiwi national tried getting out of her teammate’s way, who was moving backward for the smash.
While the 29-year-old did avoid a collision with her teammate, it led to a far more embarrassing on-court moment. She was unable to find her footing and took a hard fall. Thankfully no harm was done, and the Canadian-Kiwi duo were able to laugh it off as they celebrated their point.
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Routliffe, in collaboration with “Racquet”, posted the clip of this humiliating fall a few days after the match. Coco Gauff was the biggest personality who reacted to the reel with laughing emojis. Other WTA stars to be left in splits include Routliffe’s doubles partner Gaby Dabrowski, Alexa Guarachi Bruner, and Anett Kontaveit, among many more.
Coco Gauff could not help but laugh at this video shared by Erin Routliffe, the Kiwi doubles star! pic.twitter.com/kAgsLmZgOb
— Wide World of Tennis (@tennisfan_dkr) November 7, 2024
Routliffe and Dabrowski have been in fine form since the Saudi Arabia-based tournament kicked off. It seems like the hard fall has riled them up, helping the pair to go on an undefeated run.
Routliffe and Dabrowski clinch a spot in the semifinal
Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski clinched a straight sets win over Hao-ching and Kudermetova. But their remaining group-stage matches were significantly tougher.
During the clashes against Sara Errani-Jasmine Paolini (1-6, 7-6, 11-9) and Desirae Krawczyk-Caroline Dalehide (4-6, 6-3, 10-6), they were trailing by one set. However, the pair displayed incredible resilience and came back to win both matchups.
“We already knew we were into the next round but still really wanted to win this one, it’s a dynamic we don’t have often, but I love that about the round-robin format. It was a match where we could express ourselves and improve parts of our game,” Dabrowski said after their final group stage game.
Having gone 3-0, Routliffe and Dabrowski finish top of Group White. They will now face Ellen Perez and Nicole Melichar Martinez in a rematch of the WTA Finals 2023 semifinals. If history repeats itself, Perez and Melichar Martinez would clinch a spot in the final. Routliffe and Dabrowski will do everything possible to prevent it from happening.
