Partnering up for the first time, Routliffe and Gauff had a nerve-wracking encounter against Italy’s Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini that lasted for 1 hour 28 minutes. Some criticism went Gauff’s way for her serve and double faults but her partner doesn’t seem to be holding it against her. Routliffe uploaded her selfie with Gauff holding their medal on her official Instagram site, “When @jpegula & @gabydabrowski are away, the girls will play 😝 Finalists in Rome 🥈🇮🇹 thanks for the fun @cocogauff 🫶”

It was evident that she was playfully striking at Gauff’s usual doubles partners, who couldn’t join the American in Rome due to injuries. Who knows if the All-American duo could have vanquished the All-Italian duet? What we do know is that for first-timers, Routliffe and Gauff had more than a great run reaching the finals, even if they didn’t bag the title. On Routliffe’s post, Dabrowski reacted with clapping hand and heart emojis, presumably bearing no ill will to the runners-up.

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A post shared by Erin Routliffe (@erinroutliffe)

Gauff, who had spoke about focusing the Olympics and limiting her doubles participation after Paris, had won five doubles titles with Pegula at the US Open 2023, Canadian Open 2023, Miami Open 2023, San Diego Open 2022, and Qatar Open 2023. This historic combo also reached the Wimbledon doubles championships last year. While supporters expected this combination to unleash their magic in Rome, Pegula’s departure crushed dreams of another victory.

On the other side, Erin Routliffe and Gaby Dabrowski are showing enormous potential as partners after winning the US Open doubles last year. They also made the Australian Open doubles tour semifinals showing. However, this Canadian tennis player also withdrew from Rome due to an injury, leaving Routliffe to team with Gauff.

Playing alongside the defending US Open champion, Routliffe overcame China’s Wang Xiyu and Yue Yuan in the round of 32. Then the duo took over Mirra Andreeva and Vera Zvonareva in the round of 16. Gauff and Routliffe also defeated Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova in the quarterfinals and Zheng Saisai and Wang Xinyu in the semifinals. They delivered a tremendous performance hinting at becoming the next big doubles partners.

But Routliffe’s earlier words about her initial boyfriend emphasize their friendship and future plans.

Erin Routliffe wished “to be the No. 1 team in the world” with Gaby Dabrowski

After winning the US Open doubles last year, Routliffe discussed her ambitions with partner Dabrowski in the future. “We want to be multiple-time Grand Slam winners and we want to be the No. 1 team in the world, I think we try to focus on how we get there, rather than the actual wins to get there. It’s more like a process of figuring out how we can attain those things, but those are two things we both talk about and aspirations we have. We’re both at career-high ranks, so that’s a nice step in the right way. But I’m really looking forward to some success and transitioning from hard court to clay, that will be another adaptation” said the WTA star from New Zealand.

Gauff and Pegula have similar goals of being at the top but their immediate goal is for the Paris Olympics. Will Pegula return or will Routliffe and Dabrowski outperform the Americans?

Erin Routliffe’s recent Instagram image with Coco Gauff demonstrates the friendship among the WTA stars. While it brings up Gauff’s brilliance as both singles and doubles player, this post showcases how good partnerships may help players attain their goals.