Dabrowski’s reunion with Stefani pays off with WTA 1000 doubles title in Dubai
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DUBAI – Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski has her first WTA doubles title since reuniting with Brazil’s Luisa Stefani.
Dabrowski and Stefani, seeded fifth, defeated the unseeded duo of Germany’s Laura Siegemund and Russia’s Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 6-3 in Saturday’s final at the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
The match lasted one hour 13 minutes, with Dabrowski and Stefani winning 59.3 per cent of total points.
They converted their lone break-point chance and saved both they faced.
The title is their second WTA 1000 trophy together and first in four years. They also won the National Bank Open in Montreal in 2021, along with a WTA 250 event in Chennai, India, in 2022.
The pair first teamed in 2020 before Stefani suffered a serious knee injury at the 2021 U.S. Open.
They reunited this season after Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe ended a 2 1/2-year partnership in November that produced multiple titles, including two U.S. Open women’s doubles crowns.
Dubai marks the sixth WTA 1000 doubles title of Dabrowski’s career and fourth for Stefani.
The result will move the 33-year-old Dabrowski to a career-high world No. 2 in the WTA Rankings on Monday, behind Belgium’s Elise Mertens.
“Rankings, they come, they go — I’m more interested in just having a great partnership, and just going deep in tournaments consistently,” said Dabrowski. “That’s always been my goal. So I’m really happy to have achieved that. But a ranking doesn’t occur on its own; it’s about all the people who help you make it happen … so I couldn’t have achieved that number without them.”
The final lacked the drama of the earlier rounds.
Dabrowski and Stefani needed match tiebreaks in three of their four matches en route to the final and saved three match points in a 6-2, 4-6,14-12 quarterfinal win over Giuliana Olmos and Jessica Pegula.
They then defeated Anna Danilina and Aleksandra Krunic 4-6, 6-2, 10-6 in the semifinals after losing to that pair in Doha earlier this month.
“I’m really happy to get our first title here in Dubai,” said Stefani. “A WTA 1000 is not something you do every week, so I’m really happy with this win, and proud of our team.”
Dabrowski, who revealed in 2024 that she had been treated for breast cancer, dedicated the victory to the father of a close friend who is battling cancer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 21, 2026.