Erin Routliffe to partner with Victoria Azarenka at Roland Garros

New Zealand’s top doubles player Erin Routliffe will play alongside former world No 1 Victoria Azarenka at Roland Garros after her regular partner, Gaby Dabrowski, was ruled out with injury.

Routliffe, the world No. 3 in doubles, was forced to withdraw from the semifinals of last week’s Strasbourg tournament due to Dabrowski’s injury, the nature of which remains undisclosed.

“She hasn’t actually said what it is, so I’m not going to say,” Routliffe said. 

“She’ll be out for a little bit. I’m not really sure how long, to be honest, but I’m sure I’ll know more in the next week or so.”

With the French Open beginning this weekend, Routliffe moved quickly to find a new partner — and landed a big name.

“I found Victoria Azarenka, so that’ll be good — a last-minute partner,” she said. “I just texted her and she said, yeah, she’d like to play.”

Routliffe admitted the two don’t know each other that well off the court and have never partnered together before, but she’s excited by the opportunity.

“We see each other every single week and say hi, sometimes chat in the locker room. But I don’t know her very well at all,” Routliffe said. 

“She’s an amazing tennis player and a really good competitor. I respect her a lot for what she does on the court and off it — especially as a player representative on the Player Council.”

Routliffe has a track record of success even when forced to adjust to new partners, winning tournaments with Asia Muhammad and Jelena Ostapenko over the past nine months and she says adapting quickly is something that’s essential in the doubles game.

“To be one of the best doubles players in the world, you have to be able to play with anybody,” she said. 

“When I was starting out, I was playing with a different player every week. That was very normal. I just try to be the best partner that I can be, no matter who I’m playing with.”

While it’s unlikely she and Azarenka will get much court time together before their opening match, Routliffe says she’s used to that when teaming up with singles-focused players.

“I’ve played with a lot of singles players, and that’s kind of the deal. They do their own thing and then we just play. But that’s totally fine with me. I’m okay with it.”

Despite the disruption, Routliffe is feeling positive about her season so far, having picked up back-to-back WTA 500 titles and a clay-court title with Dabrowski — their first on that surface as a team.

“It’s a long year, ups and downs,” she said. “You can’t get too high or too low. I’m trying to learn, grow, get better and be a good doubles partner to whoever I’m playing with. So I’m excited for the rest of the year — it’s kind of just getting started. We still have three slams left.”

Routliffe will also reunite with fellow Kiwi Michael Venus for the mixed doubles in Paris — a partnership that’s become a regular fixture at the grand slams.

“I like playing with Mike a lot. Our games and personalities match up well, and we always have pretty good results,” she said. 

“It’s just a different vibe from regular doubles and I always love playing mixed. We’re ready to fight for every match.”

As for what comes next with Dabrowski still sidelined, Routliffe says she hasn’t made any decisions yet for the grass-court season.

“I have no idea who I’ll play with,” she said. “I just found Azarenka, so I’m going to focus on that, and then I’ll try and figure it out.”