Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski just added another trophy to a career year, teaming with Brazilian partner Luisa Stefani to win the SP Open women's doubles title in Sao Paulo on Sunday, September 20.
How the final went
It capped a strong week for the pair in Brazil, where they beat Chinese duo Yiming Dang and Xiaodi You 3-6, 6-3, 11-9 in the semifinal, another match that came down to a deciding tie-break.
A career year for the partnership
Stefani, for her part, came into the final ranked third in the world in doubles, a career-best position that underlines just how far the pairing has climbed together this year.
The Ottawa connection
Dabrowski grew up in Ottawa and has become one of the city's most recognizable athletes on the international stage, regularly representing the capital at Grand Slam events and WTA tour stops around the world. Every title she picks up adds to a resume that already includes past Grand Slam doubles success, and wins like Sunday's keep her firmly in the conversation among the top doubles players in the game.
What led here
Sunday's title continues a stretch that Ottawa tennis fans have been following closely all year. Dabrowski advanced to the U.S. Open women's doubles quarterfinals with Stefani earlier this month, and the pair also reached the Round of 16 at the Cincinnati Open in August. Readers can catch up on that recent run in ottown's earlier report and ottown's earlier report.
What's next
No details on Dabrowski's next tournament have been announced, but with a career-high fourth title of the season already banked, the Ottawa native heads into the fall stretch of the WTA calendar as one of the hottest doubles players on tour. Fans in the capital will be watching to see if she and Stefani can add to their season total before the year is out.
Sources: WTA Official, Exame, The Globe and Mail
