Canadian doubles ace Gabriela Dabrowski reflects on season of adversity, success

Gabriela Dabrowski’s year started with ample uncertainty.

It’s ending with the 34-year-old Canadian hovering near the top of the women’s doubles tennis rankings after one of the best seasons of her career.

“It’s been great results-wise, but it’s been even better in terms of how strong we’ve been as a team behind the scenes,” said the world No. 3. “So I’m really proud.”

Dabrowski was headed to the United Cup in Australia last December when she tore the plantar fascia in her left foot. The injury forced her to withdraw from the tournament and kept her limited early in a new partnership with Luisa Stefani.

The duo had played together before and made a run to the semifinals in the 2021 U.S. Open, only to see Stefani tear her anterior cruciate ligament. The knee injury sidelined the Brazilian for a year.

When Dabrowski and her former partner Erin Routliffe split at the end of last season, Dabrowski felt that playing with Stefani again had solid potential.

“Our friendship got stronger the last couple of years, and I just thought we could make a great team because one, the respect that we have for each other off the court, but two, also on the court with our game styles and how they gel,” the Canadian said. “So it just kind of seemed like a natural choice, I would say. And luckily, she said yes.”

What makes the partnership work, Dabrowski added, is that both she and Stefani value the same type of tennis.

“We love dictating with our serve, with our net game. We want to be playing on our terms, playing offensive tennis, causing some chaos with our moves at the net,” she said. “And I think we like being creative on court as well. And so, with a partner that values that same style of play, I think it gives each other the space to play in that way that allows for that creativity.”

The reunited pair headed into the Australian Open in January seeded fifth, but with Dabrowski still nursing a foot injury, she was concerned about how she’d perform.

“Luisa was great, very supportive,” Dabrowski said. “She knew firsthand how sort of very acute injuries can derail goals and plans, and so she was great through that and very patient.”

The pair made it to the semifinals, then won their first title of the year in Dubai weeks later. The result earned Dabrowski a career-high No. 2 spot on the WTA’s doubles rankings.

Injuries continued to nag and, in April, Dabrowski got a cortisone injection in her foot to deal with ongoing inflammation and chronic plantar fasciitis, as well as the tear.

She steadily worked her way back to full strength, and the duo continued to pile up results. They made the semifinals at the French Open, then the finals at Wimbledon.

“I’ve really tried to invest in my health and body, and luckily it’s been paying off,” Dabrowski said.

The pair returned to the U.S. Open in late August and once again made the semifinals, where they ultimately fell 6-4, 4-6, 6(8)-7 to Americans Robin Montgomery and Ashlyn Krueger.

Dabrowski and Stefani rallied, collecting three straight titles in Sao Paulo, Beijing and Wuhan.

“We had a really tough semifinal loss at the U.S. Open, which was heartbreaking. But we got back on the horse right away,” Dabrowski said. “We played in Sao Paulo, in Luisa’s hometown, and we won that event, and then we went to China and we kept working. We kept trying to improve and hold ourselves to a high standard. And it was nice to have success that week.

“And it felt very validating that the response that we did make (after) a tough loss kind of worked. So I feel like Beijing was probably the highlight (of the season) for that reason.”

The pair have now won six titles in 2026, bringing Dabrowski’s career total to 26. She’s also an Olympic medallist, having won bronze alongside Montreal’s Félix Auger-Aliassime at the 2024 Games in Paris.

As she collects hardware, the tennis star has been raising money for groups that work to prevent domestic violence against girls and women in India and sub-Saharan Africa. For every game she wins in 2026, Dabrowski is donating $20.

The initiative, called “Gaby’s Games for Good,” started after she heard the World Health Organization’s statistic that one in three girls and women worldwide has experienced physical or sexual violence in their life.

So far, she’s raised more than $56,000 from her own donations, and pledges from her sponsors and the WTA Foundation.

“Of course we have a huge uphill battle, and I hope one day we can say that the statistic is no longer one in three and we don’t have a statistic at all, and women and girls live in a world that is free from abuse. But this is a starting point,” Dabrowski said. “And hopefully it’s not something that’s just behind closed doors anymore.”

There are still more games to come, too.

Dabrowski and Stefani will continue their season at the WTA finals in Indian Wells, Calif. On Monday, the pair — the tournament’s top seed — will take on Elise Mertens and Zhang Shuai in round-robin play.

Making the tournament is always the goal at the beginning of a season, said Dabrowski, who’ll be playing in the finals for the eighth time.

“It’s just very prestigious,” she said. “You have the top eight singles players and the top eight doubles team competing, and it’s kind of like you’re playing in a Grand Slam semifinal or final every single match. So the level is very high, the expectations are high. You gotta come out swinging right out of the blocks.”

After the finals, Dabrowski — who hails from Ottawa — will join Canada for a Billie Jean King Cup tie against Brazil in Vitoria, Brazil.

The competition on Nov. 20 and 21 could pit her against her partner, Stefani.

“We played against each other on tour, so it’s not the end of the world,” Dabrowski said of the potential matchup. “But yeah, I’m loyal to my girls in Canada. So we’ll see how it goes.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2026.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press