Routliffe sisters pursue lifelong dreams at U.S. Open, Paralympics — at the same time

New York or Paris?

That was the dilemma Rob Routliffe faced this summer—a choice between two equally appealing options. He could either watch his eldest daughter, Erin, defend her U.S. Open women's doubles title in New York, or cheer on his youngest, Tess, as she competes for her second Paralympic medal in Paris at La Defense Arena.

Both events are set to start in late August and continue into the first week of September.

Rob chose Paris.

"The Paralympics only come around every four years. We can probably attend the U.S. Open next year, but we can't do both, so we're heading to Europe," he explained.

Rob also noted that both he and Tess were present for Erin's victory last year, alongside Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski.

He mentioned that Erin, known for her calm demeanor, wasn't upset by the decision.

"She's pretty easygoing. Although she's very competitive and can get herself worked up, she understands. All three of my daughters have been very athletic, so there were always choices to make about who went where."

Different international teams

Indeed, Erin and Tess Routliffe have both forged successful athletic careers. Erin and Dabrowski achieved World No. 1 status after their Grand Slam victory last year and continued their success with a semifinal appearance at the Australian Open in January and a final at Wimbledon in June. The duo will begin their U.S. Open title defense on Wednesday against Canada's Leylah Fernandez and her Kazakh partner Yulia Putintseva.

Meanwhile, Tess is coming off a 2023 World Championship performance where she won four medals, including two golds. A year earlier, she left the world stage with a medal of each color. Paris will be Tess's first Paralympics since 2016, as a back injury forced her to miss the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Even the middle sister, Tara, has an athletic background, having played NCAA volleyball on a full scholarship.

What adds an interesting twist to the story is that if you watch Erin compete at the U.S. Open, you won't see a Canadian flag next to her name. Instead, you'll see the Union Jack and four red stars, the emblem of New Zealand.

Tess, on the other hand, represents Canada.

"I guess you could say we had a midlife crisis," Rob joked. "In our mid-30s, [my ex-wife and I] packed up, started sailing around the world, and made it as far as New Zealand, where we started having babies."

Erin, Tara, and Tess were all born in Auckland but consider Caledon, Ont., their home after moving back when Tess was just six months old.

After winning championships at the collegiate level, Erin hoped to represent Canada internationally. However, Rob mentioned that Tennis Canada didn't show much interest in having Erin try out for Fed Cup teams, while New Zealand was more enthusiastic.

Once Erin made the switch, there was no turning back—a loss for Canada, considering what she might have accomplished with Dabrowski, who won mixed doubles bronze at the Olympics.

Instead, Erin and her New Zealand teammate Lulu Sun were eliminated in the first round at Roland Garros by eventual gold medalists Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani of Italy.

"In hindsight, of course, if Gaby and Erin could have played together, it would have been wonderful. They would have been a strong medal contender," Rob said.

Tess rebounds from back injury
Now, it's Tess who is heading to Paris, hoping to bring home some hardware.

The 25-year-old, who has dwarfism, will compete in four races in her S7 category, including the 50 butterfly, 100 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, and 200 individual medley.

Tess said growing up with athletic sisters inspired her to get into sports.

"There wasn't much competition in sports because that height advantage let [six-foot-two Erin] win everything. But it was definitely fun to have an athletic family that wanted to do sports, and they gave me the confidence to get into sports too," Tess said.

When she injured her back, Tess relied on her sisters as "nurses."

"It was a major setback, but I didn't want to let it stop me. I still wanted to show what I was capable of. There was a lot of pain, a lot of emotion, and many tears on the way home in my car, but it was worth it," she said.

Last year, Tess was there when Erin achieved the biggest triumph of her career at the U.S. Open—and the usually stoic swimmer couldn’t hold back her tears.

"We were all in tears, jumping for joy. It's amazing that people now recognize her for what she's done. I've seen her go through tough years, slipping through the cracks, but to see her get the recognition and achieve one of her biggest goals is unreal."

Soon, Tess could realize her lifelong dream of becoming a Paralympic champion.

Rob joked that his friends wonder how he managed to raise such successful athlete daughters.

"It seems wildly improbable. They both obviously have not just athletic talent, but also this mental toughness that allows them to not just succeed, but persevere. You know about Tess's back injury and Erin's tennis career, which not too long ago seemed like a dead end.

"Yet they both have this nameless quality, and of course, I'm wildly proud of them."