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We’re not 100 per cent sure what the future holds for the talented doubles team of Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani.
But what we do know is that the Canadian Dabrowski, who wasn’t on the list for any of the grass-court events, was planning to team up with fellow Canadian Bianca Andreescu in Berlin.
(UPDATE: Dabrowski and Andreescu did not end up in the Berlin doubles draw – they were two out. Dabrowski also tried to sign in at the alternate event in Birmingham with Marie Bouzkova, and missed the cut there – also by two spots).
Stefani will play with Caroline Garcia both in Berlin and at Wimbledon.
We’re hearing that there was an abrupt split between these two.
The deadline for Wimbledon doubles is a week away; so far, Dabrowski hasn’t entered with anyone.
(UPDATE: Dabrowski entered with Aleksandra Krunic, who has a protected ranking of No. 117 but hasn’t played in eons because of a bad knee injury. She’s scheduled to return at Wimbledon).
Open Court has contacted Dabrowski to find out what’s what; if she gets back to us, we’ll update.
This duo, perhaps the most pure doubles team out there on the WTA Tour right now, hadn’t quite put it all together since reuniting at Indian Wells this year.
When these two good chums first played together, it was instant success – until Stefani severely injured her knee in the semifinals of the 2021 US Open.
She was out a year; in the meantime, Dabrowski had forged a successful partnership Mexico’s Giuliana Olmos that brought them to the WTA Finals.
But their 2023 didn’t start gangbusters. And in the end, Dabrowski made the decision to reunite with Stefani.
So far, so-so
The newly-reunited team made the quarterfinals at Indian Wells, but lost in the first round in Miami.
They were defeated by Montrealer Erin Routliffe and partner Alexa Guarachi in their second match in Stuttgart, and made the quarters in Madrid – where they lost 10-5 in the match tiebreak to Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula. Hardly a bad loss.
In Rome, they lost 10-8 in the match tiebreak to Marie Bouzkova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
And at Roland Garros, they lost in the third round, in three sets to Leylah Fernandez, and her partner Taylor Townsend – who went all the way to the final.
Every match of theirs we saw (that is to say, most of them), they played awfully well. Just met some good opponents and it was a matter of a point here, a point there.
We’ll keep you updated with anything we find out.
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Always hate to see the split of an exciting doubles team. That said, if you caught the end of Townsend/Fernandez match Lu stays on court for a bit and chats with some Brazilian fans and is all smiles while Dabrowski storms off. She actually waits for a beat, turns her head to see where tf her partner is, and gives and exasperated look before exiting the court. Understandable but definitely off. I’ve always got the vibe (through my TV screen:) and interviews that Dabrowski is hard pressed for titles and the loot and Stafani seems to be just trying to enjoy life.
Oops, today is 06/23!
Today is 07/23 and so far there are no reports anywhere on the Brazilian press about the split of Gaby/Luísa’s doubles. As a Brazilian following their matches, the possibility of their split made me really sad. They were a powerful, energetic, super fan to watch team. The way this week started and because you have reported that not just Luisa but also Gaby entered Wimbledon with different partners, I guess it’s fair to say “they were”. Very sorry!
I had an inkling that something wasn’t right between Dabrowski & Stefani when, in a post-match interview last week, Andreescu stated that she would like to play doubles with Gaby, hopefully during the grass court season. She must have know something then to say that.
It’s sad that their partnership seems to have ended acrimoniously because they seemed to be so close & such good friends. I’m sure it is a hard time for both of them.
Thanks for this update Steph! I was wondering what was up when I saw this list for Berlin. I hope it works out for Dabrowski either way. I’d love to see her win a GS in women’s doubles.
apparently brazilian press reporting the partnership is over ??? They have also unfollowed each other on instgram. would be really sad if this is the end for them . i totally agree with you , they ran into some stiff competition in just a few tournaments back together, it literally was a few points here or there. I would have thought they would have at least completed the hardcourt season together .such a shame given all the previous success they had. Reading about this really got me sad , had such high hopes for them .
Yup, it’s over. I’m not sure “apparently Brazilian press reporting” – especially that first word – is useful or helpful when you’re … replying to a journalist, though.
The whole “social media following/unfollowing” thing, I’ll leave to those who have free time.
thanks Steph for keeping us upto date as always, sad story but awesome news that at least gaby will play wimbledon
!! thank you for getting that info to your readers . watched garcia and stefani playing today , and the body language and vibe garcia gives off with her doubles partner is not like the fun i saw gaby and luisa having when they played together. maybe i’m just reading into things. not sure if i’m
allowed to give my unsolicited opinion here but I honestly think Luisa seized an opportunity to play with garcia ( way higher profile in tennis , doubles GS cham. etc ) and dumped Gaby . that being said Caro Garcia will defo not play a full doubles /singles schedule IMO , so I do think at some point Luisa will be back with Gaby . one can only hope anyways.
Everyone has an opinion.
But the one thing doubles specialists generally avoid like the plague is teaming up with someone who is almost solely focused on singles. Because they bail on you more often than not.
And you don’t always play the same events.
But Stefani and Garcia are business partners, in a sense. Garcia doesn’t give off vibe with anyone, really. I don’t think it’s committed at all beyond the grass. I could be wrong.
I’m pretty confident that’s not the reason for the dumping.
Dabrowski and Stefani were close friends. Don’t know if that’s still the case. But it’s always a slippery slope to play with a close friend. Because if things go awry, that makes it very awkward.
The vibe at Roland Garros certainly wasn’t what it was.