Already assured of topping the White Group and advancing to the WTA Finals Riyadh semifinals, No.2 seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe came from a set and a break down to defeat No.5 seeds Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk 4-6, 6-3, [10-6] in 1 hour and 33 minutes on the last day of round-robin play.

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For the second straight year, Dabrowski and Routliffe finish the group stage of the competition with a perfect 3-0 record. They improve to 2-1 overall against Dolehide and Krawczyk following a victory in the Wimbledon semifinals and a loss in the Toronto final this year. By contrast, Dolehide and Krawczyk end their first WTA Finals with a 0-3 record, having lost all three of their matches in super-tiebreaks after winning the first set.

The American duo had already been eliminated from advancement; the winner of Thursday’s evening match between Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini and Chan Hao-Ching and Veronika Kudermetova will take second place in the group, and join Dabrowski and Routliffe in the semifinals.

“The key was just chipping away, trying to problem-solve,” said Dabrowski afterwards. “It was not easy — they brought a great level. Because we already knew we were into the next round but still really wanted to win this one, it’s a dynamic we don’t have often, but I love that about the round-robin format. It was a match where we could express ourselves and improve parts of our game.”

A pair of clean return winners on the Dabrowski serve enabled Dolehide and Krawczyk to break the Canadian in the final game of the first set. But at 2-0 in the second, Krawczyk double faulted down break point, and from there the 2023 US Open champions gradually took control. Dabrowski’s proficiency at net proved crucial, and she delivered a series of winners at net in the super-tiebreak.