Australian Open doubles star Gaby Dabrowski wildly misfires serve into partner Erin Routliffe’s head

Australian Open women’s doubles No.2 seeds Gaby Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe are among the most in-sync pairs on tour.

Last year alone, they won the WTA finals, reached the Wimbledon final, the semi-finals at the Australian Open and the quarter-finals at the US Open.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Doubles partner hit on the head by wayward serve.

But you wouldn’t know it if you were a passerby in the middle of the third set of their first-round match against American pair Danielle Collins and Desirae Krawczyk at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.

Serving at one set apiece and 3-3 in the third, Canadian Dabrowski misfired wildly with a ball that would have crashed into the bottom of the net, but instead cannoned into the back of her Kiwi partner’s head.

Routliffe initially appeared hurt from the ball which could have been quite dangerous, but quickly stood back up and joined in a laugh with Dabrowski, who turned away in equal parts hysterics and embarrassment.

The New Zealand-Canadian pair were able to shrug the blooper off though, taking the next three games to win the third set and claim a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win.

On the eve of the tournament, Dabrowski revealed she played through last year while undergoing cancer treatment.

“I know this will come as a shock to many, but I am OK and I will be okay. Early detection saves lives. I can wholeheartedly agree with this,” she said earlier this month.

“In the spring of 2023 I felt a lump in my left breast during a self-exam. A few months later, a doctor told me it was nothing and not to worry. So I didn’t. Time went on, and in spring 2024, I thought the lump was a little bigger. During our WTA comprehensive physicals, a WTA doctor told me she wasn’t sure what it was, and to go and get it scanned.

“First, a mammogram, second, an ultrasound, to confirm what the mammogram saw. Third… a phone call from the radiologist reading the images, alerting me to a lump that did not look like a cyst due to its uneven edging and shading. ‘It looks ugly and I want you to get a biopsy immediately’.

“The following morning, I had a biopsy of my left breast. The preliminary results came back that day: cancer. These are words you never expect to hear, and in an instant your life or the life of a loved one turns upside down.

“Fast forward through two surgeries at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, recovery, rehab, @patrickdaciek tossing the ball for me on my serve because my left arm couldn’t raise high enough (this was 2 weeks before Nottingham) a slight delay in further treatment to be able to compete at Wimbledon and the Olympics, radiation and fatigue (between Toronto and US Open), starting endocrine therapy, ending the season on the highest note possible… it all seems surreal.”

On the men’s side of the doubles draw, Nick Kyrgios was due to play with 2022 Australian Open title-winning partner Thanasi Kokkinakis on Thursday, but may not get the chance due to the latter’s debilitating shoulder injury.

Regardless though, with his singles career seemingly shot, Kyrgios is being urged to remain on tour amid predictions he could become the best doubles player on the planet.

A crestfallen Kyrgios conceded he had likely played his last Australian Open singles match after injury once more conspired against him in a straight-sets first-round loss to lowly ranked Brit Jacob Fearnley at Melbourne Park.

The 29-year-old part-timer plans to play singles at the remaining grand slams in 2025, with the ATP saying Kyrgios has seven more tournaments through until November to use his injury-protected ranking of world No.21 to gain direct entry.

But leading American doubles analyst Will Boucek is imploring the mercurial talent to channel his energy and rich talent elsewhere.

“I really believe if he focuses on doubles, he’s got the skill set to be potentially the best doubles player in the world,” Boucek said.

“A few things make him specifically good at doubles.

“He can take returns really early so he can step forward and kind of use a SABR (Sneak Attack By Roger)-type return, and what that does is it totally neutralises the opposing net player.

“So the ball gets past the server’s partner really quickly and back to the server. He can also turn and volley with that.”

An ATP and WTA doubles strategy analyst, having worked with top-10 teams at the US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros, the Australian Open, the WTA Finals and the Olympics, Boucek ranks Kyrgios as more naturally talented than Roger Federer.

“He’s got all the shots and would be unrivalled for sure with his skill set,” he said.

“Potentially his ball skills are some of the best of all time, and then obviously his serve is massive, which is going to make it easy.

“He’s tall, so he’s got a big reach so he’s good at the net for his partner and can cover a lot of area.

“So I absolutely think he could be one of the top, if not the top, doubles players in the world if he wants to focus on it.”

Being a grand slam doubles contender could also help Kyrgios the great showman to remain a centre of attention, Boucek reckons, while also extending his career.

Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis won the 2022 Australian Open doubles title and Boucek is convinced the Special Ks can be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

“Having a partner would also help Nick focus and play better,” he said.

“On the singles court, for me historically, it has been like he’s very afraid to try and not lose, so he’d rather just not try.

“I think that mentality goes away because he has a partner, a mate as well, that he wants to try for.”

Three rounds of wrist and knee surgery have sidelined the one-time world No.13 and 2022 Wimbledon finalist for almost two and a half years.

“That’s one of the things about doubles — you can sustain your career a lot longer,” Boucek said.

“We’re seeing it with ‘Boo’ (Rohan Bopanna) winning the Australian Open last year at 43 (with Australian Matt Ebden).

“Rajeev Ram is 40 now. (Paris Olympics gold medallist) Ebden is probably not that close to retiring and he is 37.

“So, yeah, a lot of the top doubles players are a little bit older because you only have to cover a portion of the court.

“It’s just easier on the body for sure.”

- With AAP