NEW YORK (AP) — Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe won the U.S. Open women’s doubles title for the second time in three years, ending Taylor Townsend's whirlwind stint in Flushing Meadows one victory short of what would have been the American's third Grand Slam championship with Katerina Siniakova.
Seeded third, Dabrowski and Routliffe beat the top-ranked pair of Townsend and Siniakova 6-4, 6-4 in an entertaining final Friday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
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Erin Routliffe, of New Zealand, left, and Gabriela Dabrowski, of Canada, kiss the championship trophy after defeating Taylor Townsend, of the United States, and Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, in the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Gabriela Dabrowski, of Canada, right returns a shot to Taylor Townsend, of the United States, and Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, as partner Erin Routliffe, of New Zealand, looks on during the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Taylor Townsend, of the United States, returns a shot over Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, to Gabriela Dabrowski, of Canada, and Erin Routliffe, of New Zealand, during the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Gabriela Dabrowski, of Canada, and Erin Routliffe, of New Zealand, high five after a rally against Taylor Townsend, of the United States, and Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, during the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Taylor Townsend, of the United States, left, and Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, pose for a photo with Erin Routliffe, of New Zealand, left, and Gabriela Dabrowski, of Canada, Routliffe and Dabrowski won the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York.of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Erin Routliffe, of New Zealand, left, and Gabriela Dabrowski, of Canada, kiss the championship trophy after defeating Taylor Townsend, of the United States, and Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, in the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Gabriela Dabrowski, of Canada, right returns a shot to Taylor Townsend, of the United States, and Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, as partner Erin Routliffe, of New Zealand, looks on during the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Taylor Townsend, of the United States, returns a shot over Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, to Gabriela Dabrowski, of Canada, and Erin Routliffe, of New Zealand, during the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Gabriela Dabrowski, of Canada, and Erin Routliffe, of New Zealand, high five after a rally against Taylor Townsend, of the United States, and Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, during the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Taylor Townsend, of the United States, left, and Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, pose for a photo with Erin Routliffe, of New Zealand, left, and Gabriela Dabrowski, of Canada, Routliffe and Dabrowski won the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York.of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Dabrowski and Routliffe embraced afterward, celebrating Dabrowski's first major triumph since undergoing treatment for breast cancer. She delayed part of that treatment so she could compete at Wimbledon last year, where she and Routliffe reached the final, where they lost to Townsend and Siniakova.
“Wild ride: Cancer, broken ribs for both of us," Dabrowski said. “It was crazy, honestly. I’m really proud of us. It was not easy.”
Townsend became one of the faces of the tournament, thanks to a post-match altercation early in singles play that she wishes never happened. Townsend, who is Black, said Latvian opponent Jelena Ostapenko told her she had “no class” and “no education,” an interaction that became a hot button topic with questions about whether the comments had racial undertones.
The 29-year-old said she didn't take it that way, acknowledging, “That has been a stigma in our community of being ‘not educated’ and all of the things, when it’s the furthest thing from the truth.” Townsend's online following grew exponentially, she said she received support from fellow players and Ostapenko ultimately apologized on social media, citing English not being her first language for what she thought to mean a critique of tennis etiquette.
Townsend reached the fourth round in singles, losing to Barbora Krejcikova on Sunday when she failed to convert eight match points. It would have been Townsend's first solo quarterfinal appearance at a major, and she and Siniakova were aiming to add a U.S. Open title to their resume after winning Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
“This has been a huge, monumental tournament for me,” Townsend said. “It’s really changed my life, and no matter the result, I already feel like I won.”
In doubles, Townsend and Siniakova reached the final at a Grand Slam for a fifth time, along the way eliminating Venus Williams and Leylah Fernandez to end their much-talked-about wild-card run. Williams, back playing at age 45, and Fernandez drew big crowds at Louis Armstrong Stadium as significant fan favorites.
Dabrowski, a 33-year-old Canadian, and Routliffe, a 30-year-old from New Zealand, split $1 million. That's the same prize money as the winners of the men's final Saturday: Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos against Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski.
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Erin Routliffe, of New Zealand, left, and Gabriela Dabrowski, of Canada, kiss the championship trophy after defeating Taylor Townsend, of the United States, and Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, in the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Gabriela Dabrowski, of Canada, right returns a shot to Taylor Townsend, of the United States, and Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, as partner Erin Routliffe, of New Zealand, looks on during the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Taylor Townsend, of the United States, returns a shot over Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, to Gabriela Dabrowski, of Canada, and Erin Routliffe, of New Zealand, during the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Gabriela Dabrowski, of Canada, and Erin Routliffe, of New Zealand, high five after a rally against Taylor Townsend, of the United States, and Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, during the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Taylor Townsend, of the United States, left, and Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, pose for a photo with Erin Routliffe, of New Zealand, left, and Gabriela Dabrowski, of Canada, Routliffe and Dabrowski won the women's doubles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York.of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An ailing astronaut returned to Earth with three others on Thursday, ending their space station mission more than a month early in NASA’s first medical evacuation.
SpaceX guided the capsule to a middle-of-the-night splashdown in the Pacific near San Diego, less than 11 hours after the astronauts exited the International Space Station.
“It’s so good to be home,” said NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, the capsule commander.
It was an unexpected finish to a mission that began in August and left the orbiting lab with only one American and two Russians on board. NASA and SpaceX said they would try to move up the launch of a fresh crew of four; liftoff is currently targeted for mid-February.
Cardman and NASA’s Mike Fincke were joined on the return by Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov. Officials have refused to identify the astronaut who had the health problem or explain what happened, citing medical privacy.
While the astronaut was stable in orbit, NASA wanted them back on Earth as soon as possible to receive proper care and diagnostic testing. The entry and splashdown required no special changes or accommodations, officials said, and the recovery ship had its usual allotment of medical experts on board. It was not immediately known when the astronauts would fly from California to their home base in Houston. Platonov’s return to Moscow was also unclear.
NASA stressed repeatedly over the past week that this was not an emergency. The astronaut fell sick or was injured on Jan. 7, prompting NASA to call off the next day’s spacewalk by Cardman and Fincke, and ultimately resulting in the early return. It was the first time NASA cut short a spaceflight for medical reasons. The Russians had done so decades ago.
The space station has gotten by with three astronauts before, sometimes even with just two. NASA said it will be unable to perform a spacewalk, even for an emergency, until the arrival of the next crew, which has two Americans, one French and one Russian astronaut.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov is helped out of the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship SHANNON after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui is helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
NASA astronaut Mike Fincke is helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
NASA astronaut Zena Cardman is helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 capsule being taken into the recovery vessel after crew members re entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA astronaut Mike Fincke getting helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows Russian astronaut Oleg Platonov being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, left, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui are seen inside the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship SHANNON shortly after having landed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Long Beach, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows NASA astronaut Zena Cardman being helped out of the SpaceX Crew-11 capsule after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA TV shows the SpaceX Dragon departing from the International Space Station shortly after undocking with four NASA Crew-11 members inside on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This photo provided by NASA shows clockwise from bottom left are, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui gathering for a crew portrait wearing their Dragon pressure suits during a suit verification check inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows recovery vessels approaching the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 capsule to evacuate one of the crew members after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
