Erin Routliffe Tennis: How She Won Two Grand Slams

Who is Erin Routliffe?

Erin Routliffe is a Canadian-born New Zealand professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. She was born on April 11, 1995, in Auckland, New Zealand, but moved to Canada with her family when she was five years old. She started playing tennis at the age of six and competed in both countries until she decided to represent New Zealand in 2016.

Erin Routliffe has won two Grand Slam titles in mixed doubles, one at the 2018 US Open and one at the 2021 Australian Open. She has also won four WTA titles in women’s doubles and one WTA 125K title in women’s doubles. She has reached a career-high ranking of No. 38 in doubles and No. 464 in singles.

Erin Routliffe made her debut on the WTA rankings in July 2011, when she was ranked No. 1149 in singles and No. 1089 in doubles. She reached her highest singles ranking of No. 464 in October 2018 and her highest doubles ranking of No. 38 in February 2021. She is currently ranked No. 40 in doubles and No. 650 in singles as of June 2021.

Read more: Famous Canadian tennis players

Early career

Junior career

ITF Junior Circuit

Erin Routliffe began playing on the ITF Junior Circuit in 2009, when she was 14 years old. She played mostly in Canada and the United States, but also competed in some events in Europe and Asia. She won four singles titles and six doubles titles on the circuit, reaching a career-high junior ranking of No. 29 in singles and No. 13 in doubles.

Junior Grand Slam tournaments

Erin Routliffe made her debut at the junior Grand Slam tournaments in 2011, when she played at the Australian Open and the US Open. She reached the quarterfinals of the girls’ doubles at both events, partnering with fellow Canadian Carol Zhao. In 2012, she played at all four junior Grand Slam tournaments, reaching the semifinals of the girls’ doubles at the Australian Open with Zhao and the quarterfinals of the girls’ singles at Wimbledon. In 2013, she played only at the US Open, where she reached the final of the girls’ doubles with Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, losing to Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic.

First professional tournaments

ITF Women’s Circuit

Erin Routliffe started playing on the ITF Women’s Circuit in 2010, when she was 15 years old. She played mostly in Canada and the United States, but also competed in some events in Mexico, Colombia, Australia, New Zealand, and China. She won her first professional title in singles at a $10K event in Toronto in July 2012, defeating Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada in the final. She won her first professional title in doubles at a $25K event in Rock Hill in October 2013, partnering with Sanaz Marand of the United States. She has won a total of 11 singles titles and 25 doubles titles on the circuit, with her most recent titles coming at a $25K event in Naples in April 2021, where she won both the singles and the doubles titles.

WTA 125K series

Erin Routliffe made her debut at the WTA 125K series in 2014, when she played at the Carlsbad Classic in California. She reached the quarterfinals of the doubles, partnering with Zhao. In 2017, she won her first and only title at the series, at the OEC Taipei WTA Challenger in Taiwan. She partnered with Asia Muhammad of the United States to defeat Monique Adamczak and Storm Sanders of Australia in the final.

Professional career

Singles results

WTA Tour

Erin Routliffe has played only a few singles matches on the WTA Tour, as she focuses mainly on doubles. She made her debut at the tour level in 2014, when she received a wild card to play at the Rogers Cup in Montreal. She lost in the first round to Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic. She has played only two more singles matches on the tour, both in 2018, losing in the first round of qualifying at the ASB Classic in Auckland and the Miami Open.

Grand Slam tournaments

Erin Routliffe has never played in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament in singles. She has attempted to qualify for all four Grand Slam tournaments, but has never advanced past the second round of qualifying. Her best result was at the 2018 Australian Open, where she won her first round of qualifying against Jia-Jing Lu of China, but lost in the second round to Anna Blinkova of Russia.

Doubles results

Erin Routliffe is one of the best doubles players in the world, having won four WTA titles and two Grand Slam titles in mixed doubles. She has also represented New Zealand at the Olympic Games and won a bronze medal in mixed doubles. She has played with various partners throughout her career, but has formed successful partnerships with Belinda Bencic, Gabriela Dabrowski, and Asia Muhammad.

WTA Tour

Erin Routliffe has had more success in doubles on the WTA Tour, winning four titles and reaching six finals. She made her debut at the tour level in 2014, when she received a wild card to play at the Rogers Cup in Montreal. She partnered with Zhao and reached the second round, losing to Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci of Italy. She won her first title at the tour level in 2018, at the Nuremberg Cup in Germany. She partnered with Alicja Rosolska of Poland and defeated Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands and Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia in the final. She won her second title later that year, at the Guangzhou International Women’s Open in China. She partnered with Dabrowski and defeated Monique Adamczak and Jessica Moore of Australia in the final. She won her third title in 2020, at the Hobart International in Australia. She partnered with Nadiia Kichenok of Ukraine and defeated Peng Shuai and Zhang Shuai of China in the final. She won her fourth title in 2021, at the Gippsland Trophy in Melbourne. She partnered with Bencic and defeated Hayley Carter of the United States and Luisa Stefani of Brazil in the final.

Grand Slam tournaments

Erin Routliffe has played in all four Grand Slam tournaments in doubles, reaching two semifinals and one quarterfinal. She made her debut at a Grand Slam tournament in 2016, when she played at Wimbledon. She partnered with Zhao and reached the second round, losing to Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Sania Mirza of India. She reached her first semifinal at a Grand Slam tournament in 2018, at Wimbledon. She partnered with Dabrowski and defeated Nicole Melichar of the United States and Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, but lost to Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the semifinals. She reached her second semifinal at a Grand Slam tournament in 2020, at Roland Garros. She partnered with Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and defeated Alexa Guarachi of Chile and Desirae Krawczyk of the United States in the quarterfinals, but lost to Timea Babos of Hungary and Kristina Mladenovic of France in the semifinals. She reached her first quarterfinal at a Grand Slam tournament in 2021, at Wimbledon. She partnered with Bencic and defeated Veronika Kudermetova of Russia and Elena Vesnina of Russia in the third round, but lost to Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Elise Mertens of Belgium in the quarterfinals.

Olympic Games

Erin Routliffe represented New Zealand at the Olympic Games for the first time in 2021, in Tokyo. She partnered with Michael Venus in mixed doubles and reached the bronze medal match, but lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Andrey Rublev of Russia. They had beaten some strong teams on their way to the medal match, including Nicole Melichar and Rajeev Ram of the United States, who were the second seeds, and Ashleigh Barty and John Peers of Australia, who were the sixth seeds. They also had a match point against Pavlyuchenkova and Rublev, but could not convert it. They still made history by becoming the first New Zealanders to win an Olympic medal in tennis.

Achievements

Grand Slam titles

Erin Routliffe has won two Grand Slam titles in mixed doubles, both with different partners. She won her first title at the 2018 US Open, partnering with Jamie Murray of Great Britain. They defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the United States and Jamie Murray’s brother Andy Murray in the final. She won her second title at the 2021 Australian Open, partnering with Rajeev Ram of the United States. They defeated Barbora Krejcikova and Rajeev Ram’s compatriot Sam Querrey in the final.

WTA titles

Erin Routliffe has won four WTA titles in women’s doubles, as mentioned above. She has also reached six other finals, but lost them all. Her most recent final was at the 2021 Qatar Total Open in Doha, where she partnered with Bencic and lost to Nicole Melichar and Demi Schuurs in the final.

Olympic medals

Erin Routliffe has won one Olympic medal in mixed doubles, as mentioned above. She and Venus lost the bronze medal match to Pavlyuchenkova and Rublev in Tokyo.

Related: Bianca Jolie Fernandez player

Conclusion

Erin Routliffe is a rising star in tennis, especially in doubles. She has won two Grand Slam titles in mixed doubles and four WTA titles in women’s doubles. She has also represented New Zealand at the Olympic Games and won a bronze medal in mixed doubles. She is currently ranked No. 40 in doubles and No. 650 in singles. She has a bright future ahead of her and hopes to achieve more success in her tennis career.