Dubs Preview: Krawczyk Has Designs on Second COCO Crown

KRAWCZYK/DOLEHIDE FACE TOP SEEDS OSTAPENKO/ROUTLIFFE SUNDAY

[1] Jelena Ostapenko (LAT)/Erin Routliffe (NZE) vs. [3] Caroline Dolehide (USA)/Desirae Krawczyk (USA)
Credit One Stadium, 12 p.m.

It was once said that the best doubles team in the world “is John McEnroe and anyone”. The same might be said for Californian Desirae Krawczyk, who on Sunday will play for her second Credit One Charleston Open doubles title in three years, this time with a different partner.

Krawczyk, 31, the owner of four major mixed doubles titles, captured the trophy on Daniel Island in 2023 alongside compatriot Danielle Collins. She returns to the title tilt this weekend with another American, Caroline Dolehide. Last year, the duo reached the Qatar final; made semifinal appearances in Rome, Roland Garros and Wimbledon; and won the WTA 1000 title in Toronto.

Krawczyk and Dolehide have had their work cut out for them this week. They needed a late push to top Diana Shnaider and Peyton Stearns in the semis, 1-6, 6-3, 11-9. Now they’re in for an even stiffer challenge in the first-time pairing of Jelena Ostapenko and Erin Routliffe, the tournament’s top seeds, who advanced via a 6-2, 5-7, 10-6 match tiebreak win over Americans Hailey Baptise and Caty McNally.

Jelena Ostapenko on the full stretch.

“They’re great players. We pretty much need to do what we’ve been doing — be aggressive, don’t give them any chance to play their game,” said Ostapenko, the reigning US Open women’s double titlist (with Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok).

“We’ve both played them a lot. They’re a really, really successful team. They gel well together. They’re obviously played a lot more together than we have,” said Routliffe, who last year won the year-end WTA Finals alongside Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski. “But with this scoring system, you’ve just got to be really aggressive on big points, kind of go for it, which I think we’ve been doing a good job of. We’ll continue to do that tomorrow.”

“I try to make jokes. I think I had lost that the last couple of months, so to get that back and feel a little bit more like myself on court, it does feel good.” — Erin Routliffe

Ostapenko and Routliffe have made a point of keeping it light on the court, something that has been working to their advantage throughout the tournament.

“I try to make jokes. I think I had lost that the last couple of months, so to get that back and feel a little bit more like myself on court, it does feel good,” said Routliffe.

“Me and Erin, we’re playing together for the first time, but I feel like every match we get better and better,” said Ostapenko. “We’re getting used to playing with each other. Hopefully, we can keep it up.”

Ostapenko and Routliffe.