OMNIUM BANQUE NATIONALE

July 27, 2025

Gabriela Dabrowski

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Gaby, welcome back to Montreal. How does it feel to be here, and how excited are you to play at home?

GABRIELA DABROWSKI: Yeah, it's as close to home as it's going to get for me, being from Ottawa. So I definitely didn't mind the two-hour drive today to get here. It was really easy, no traffic. I'm staying with friends. So, yeah, I'm really excited.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You were just honored in Ottawa with the keys and stuff. Have you ever thought in your wildest dreams that a tennis career could lead to things like that, completely off the court?

GABRIELA DABROWSKI: No, not at all. I think growing up, my parents taught me to always think of ways that you can give back, whether it's to your inner circle of people, to your wider community, to others even more spread out globally.

So I think what's really cool about the honor with the Key to the City is that it's not just about tennis accomplishments. It's about things that I've cared about doing for many years that hopefully impact others in a positive way. So to be recognized for that was really amazing.

I think also being able to share the moment with so many close friends and my parents and people from my medical team that were there as well, it was just so special. But, no, I could never have imagined something like that in my wildest dreams.

Q. You won the title here. I think it was in the bubble sort of --

GABRIELA DABROWSKI: 2021, yeah.

Q. I think you had was it your grandmother or someone who was sitting courtside when you won or something? You had, like, in your box in 2021?

GABRIELA DABROWSKI: My parents were there. They were sitting up in one of the suites I think or something, but no, my grandma wasn't there. I had friends that were sitting pretty close by.

Q. Winning that was obviously a bit different given that the tournament was kind of, like, in that mini-bubble type thing with limited fans and stuff.

GABRIELA DABROWSKI: Yeah.

Q. What do you remember about that? Obviously you've been back since, but to have this kind of back to normal everything.

GABRIELA DABROWSKI: Well, I mean, the moment was really special I think because some friends and my parents were able to make the finals. It was cool to win the title with one of my good friends, Luisa Stefani. I think we'll both share that memory forever, which is really, really special.

Yeah, I mean, I'm glad that things are back to normal. You know, I think we made the most of our downtime in the bubble, for sure. We found a lot of things to do and hang out with each other and try, you know, binge-watching shows for probably a little bit too long.

I'm glad that things are back to normal, and we can explore the city and eat out and enjoy where we are and where we get to travel to, so...

Q. You are mentioning things getting back to normal, and I'm sorry if you're tired of talking about it, but it means something else for you, obviously. Having things back to normal this season, how great is it for you to have a somewhat normal season as opposed to last year?

GABRIELA DABROWSKI: Well, actually, it's been tough because I broke my ribs before the French Open, so it's not really been -- and I've been struggling with my ribs on and off from about mid-February. It's actually not been a normal season again. Erin and I missed place Roland Garros again. I don't know, maybe it's just not in the cards for us to play that slam. I don't know.

Yeah, it doesn't feel like it's been back to normal because injuring your ribs is like -- you can't do anything when you know that something is wrong with them, because they hurt when you breathe. It's not like another injury where you can kind of work on other aspects of your game or in the gym and what not.

It's actually been really tough, I've found, and I think also, just a little bit the uncertainty of it, not knowing how quickly my ribs would heal, not really knowing exactly how bad they were until they actually broke. I was in excruciating pain, which was in Strasbourg, and why I had to pull out of our semis there.

So, yeah, I'm honestly just keeping my fingers crossed that they continue to heal, as they've been healing the last few weeks and hopefully play a full rest of the season. You know, our goal as a team for Erin and I is to qualify for Riyadh, the year-end finals again.

Yeah, it will be difficult to do that if I can't play the amount of tournaments I want to play. So, honestly, I'm just hoping that things stay a little calmer on the body front (laughing).

Q. What's been your relationship like with Genie Bouchard? I know you've played with her at the Billie Jean King Cup. What's been that relationship like, and what do you think she's meant for Canadian tennis?

GABRIELA DABROWSKI: Well, at one point she was really the leader for us in tennis. She was the one that I think had a big part in putting Canada on the map internationally in tennis.

I think she inspired a lot of the younger generation to play and to see what's possible, to achieve in the sport of tennis, having made the finals of Wimbledon. She made, what, top 4 in the world, top 5. That's incredible.

I mean, I personally have great memories playing doubles with her at Billie Jean King Cup. That was really fun. She's a good teammate. She was always that type of player that could just show up even if, you know, she's been injured and away from the game for a long time. I feel like whenever she was called upon to play and took that responsibility, she was there 100%.

So, as a teammate, I always looked up to that, and I always admired her tenacity in the sport. I think for many years it was probably difficult because of the amount of attention that she received so quickly, so that's not an easy thing to deal with in sports when people are really trying to focus on things other than the sport.

Granted, I think because of that she also now has so many amazing opportunities outside of tennis too. So it's a double-edged sword, getting that attention, but then also having to deal with it.

I've always admired her work ethic in the sport. I think a lot of people don't talk about that enough. They just see a lot of things that she does off the court, and they would automatically assume that she wasn't taking her tennis seriously, but that was never the impression that I got and what I saw, being at the same tournaments as her and playing on the same team as her.

Yeah, I think she's had an incredible career, and honestly, I wish her all the best and all the happiness and health in the world, and excited to see what's next for her.

Q. I was curious to have your perspective on the new format here in Montreal, over 12 days. What kind of impact does it have on the doubles schedule also, and do you like having all this downtime, or would you rather play a little bit more often?

GABRIELA DABROWSKI: Yeah, the two-week, ten-day tournaments are definitely tougher for doubles players, but we've also gotten feedback from singles players that it's not necessarily the easiest thing.

I think with the circuit structure changes and the goal to have equal prize money across the board by 2030, you know, and then tournaments are more valuable as two-week events or ten-day events than one-week events, there are obviously a lot of benefits, I guess, over time on the financial front. But it doesn't necessarily do anything to help us have a real break.

You know, our offseason is very, very short, and I don't necessarily think that two-week or ten-day events help us, but it's very early on. I think we'll only be able to assess the impact that it has physically and mentally for players and financially for players and tournaments over the next few years and see how it goes.

But, I mean, I hope for the best for everyone, but it's just a little bit too early to assess it, I think, more concretely.

Q. Speaking of new formats, there's been a lot of talk about the US Open and the mixed doubles, how they're kind of going about it. Obviously as someone who has won mixed doubles titles, seeing them kind of go to this two-day format before the event with a lot of major singles stars instead, I imagine that must be difficult for you kind of to comprehend or deal with kind of as you start your summer hard court swing?

GABRIELA DABROWSKI: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think doubles players, in general, especially those that focus predominantly on doubles, are already a little bit marginalized in the sport, and there's not a whole lot of exposure and attention. So to remove, one, a source of income for them in the mixed doubles draw is a shame.

I think another tricky part is just the general sense of maybe not yet having a true partnership with the slams when it comes to governance and these types of decisions that impact such a wide player group. Obviously, it will be a great event for those top singles players. Lots of prize money to win. Something probably really fun.

Eight teams for singles ranking and then eight wildcards, that's not really a true draw in the sport of tennis. That's more of an exhibition, and I think there's nothing wrong with having an exhibition or an invitational. You know, like Indian Wells is doing the Tie Break Tens. It's really fun to watch, although I would love to see more higher-ranked doubles players in that event, too, just to be able to demonstrate the contrast between playing styles and display a different dynamic and mastery of craft to fans.

But, yeah, it's definitely been disappointing, to say the least. Obviously I would love to play. I've entered with Felix, but at the same time, our entry will be at the discretion of the event if we get in or not. Yeah, we'll see.

Do I think it's a true mixed doubles championship? No. Do I think it could help the sport of doubles in the end? It could, but not if you can't have any doubles players play in it. So we'll see.