A product of Kim Clijsters' academy, where she trained from 2015 until it closed, Elise Mertens plays tennis the tidy way: deep returns, a dependable backhand, and the patience to let opponents crack first. Her singles breakthrough came fast. At the 2018 Australian Open she cut through to the semi-finals, beating Elina Svitolina along the way, and by November that year she stood at a career-high No. 12. She has collected 10 career titles, the tenth of them on the Rosmalen grass in 2025.
Doubles is where she is an all-time force. Mertens owns six Grand Slam doubles titles with four different partners, among them Aryna Sabalenka, also one of her most frequent singles opponents. She first reached doubles No. 1 in May 2021, and a third Australian Open crown in 2026, alongside Zhang Shuai, put her back on top of those rankings. Born in Leuven in 1995, she remains that rare player who contends every week in both draws, a full decade into her career.
Nineteen. That is how many places Diane Parry has climbed in this week's WTA rankings, from 50 to a career-high 31, the biggest move anywhere on the list. The 23-year-old Frenchwoman won the title in Monterrey to get there, moving past her previous career high of 48.
Ranking taleThree. That is how many seeded players Diane Parry beat this week in Monterrey: Donna Vekic, the sixth seed, in the opening round; Ann Li, the fifth seed, in the semi-final; and Elise Mertens, the second seed, in a final she won 6-4 0-6 6-3 for her first tour-level title.
Match tale