Erin Routliffe is still pinching herself after her historic title at the US Open although she hasn't got much time to bask in it.
Routliffe and Canadian partner Gaby Dabrowski won the women's doubles title yesterday morning in just their fourth tournament together, beating 2020 champions Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva 7-6 (9), 6-3.
The win was the first Grand Slam title for both of them and for Routliffe, she became the first New Zealander to win a title at Flushing Meadows.
Speaking to Breakfast this morning 24 hours after the win, Routliffe said she's still coming to terms with the triumph.
"It's been really exciting and a little overwhelming," she said.
"I'm just trying to soak it all in. It's been 24 hours at this point but I'm still a little bit in shock. It's been really exciting."
Routliffe, who was born in New Zealand but raised in Canada, said the pair celebrated the title by going out to dinner with their coaches and families as they reflected on the journeys they'd taken to get to that moment.
"It's something that I've worked for my entire life - that's why I play tennis, why I started playing tennis when I was a little girl," she said.
"It's really crazy just to think about how long I've been playing and how long I've been grinding and Gaby as well - you play with multiple different partners as well and that's something to navigate.
"It feels like all the hard work I've put in has led to this moment."
Now that she's here, the 28-year-old is looking to use her moment as a springboard for her career with multiple goals lining up already - including a potential run at next year's Paris Olympics with the New Zealand team.
But achieving those goals takes time, dedication and also resources - the latter receiving a big boost yesterday with the $1.1million prize money Routliffe received to share with Dabrowski.
Routliffe said she plans to reinvest the money into her tennis.
"A lot of the time, doubles players don't have coaches with them all the time or physios and fitness trainers and all that jazz - we're doing it by ourselves with our partner - so that makes it easier," she said.
"It's like a cycle - if you have a really big result, you can keep going and try to have more big results because you have the resources to do that so I want to try and use it and keep going.
"I feel like, in a way, my career is just beginning."
Routliffe added she may tack on a few luxuries to her work bills though.
"Maybe I'll fly business class for those long haul flights!"
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