Elise Mertens

Elise Mertens

Mertens at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships
Country (sports)	Belgium
Residence	Hamont-Achel, Belgium
Born	(1995-11-17) 17 November 1995 Leuven, Belgium
Height	179 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Plays	Right (two-handed backhand)
Coach	Robbe Ceyssens (2016–2018) Rick Vleeshouwers (2018–)
Prize money	$1,835,068
Singles
Career record	233–118
Career titles	4 WTA, 11 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 15 (11 June 2018)
Current ranking	No. 15 (11 June 2018)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	SF (2018)
French Open	4R (2018)
Wimbledon	1R (2017)
US Open	1R (2016, 2017)
Doubles
Career record	168–81
Career titles	4 WTA, 13 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 30 (16 April 2018)
Current ranking	No. 31 (28 May 2018)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	2R (2017)
French Open	1R (2017, 2018)
Wimbledon	3R (2017)
US Open	2R (2017)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	QF (2018), record 8–2
Hopman Cup	RR (2018)
Last updated on: 28 May 2018.

Elise Mertens (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmɛrtə(n)s]; born 17 November 1995) is a Belgian professional tennis player.

Mertens has won four singles and four doubles WTA titles as well as 24 ITF titles to date. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 15, achieved on 11 June 2018, and a best doubles ranking of No. 30, achieved on the 16 April 2018.

Mertens reached a career-high juniors ranking of No. 7 in 2013. She made her WTA main-draw debut at the 2015 Copa Colsanitas in the doubles event, partnering Nastja Kolar. She won her first WTA doubles title at the 2016 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, partnering An-Sophie Mestach.

Personal life

Mertens was born in Leuven, the second daughter of Liliane Barbe, a teacher, and Guido Mertens, who makes furniture for churches. She was home-schooled and enjoyed studying languages, having learned to speak French, English and Dutch/Flemish. Her older sister, Lauren, is currently an airline pilot and introduced the then 4-year-old Elise to tennis. While growing up, Mertens looked up to Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, and is currently a member of the Kim Clijsters Academy, where she has been training since 2015.

Tennis career

2017: First WTA singles title and top 40 debut

In January, Mertens won the Hobart International, beating No. 3 seed Monica Niculescu in the final. As a result of this she broke into the WTA top 100 for the first time, on 16 January 2017.

After missing the Australian Open qualifying due to her Hobart campaign, Mertens reached the first round of the St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy through qualifying, and lost to Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets. She then competed at the Dubai Tennis Championships, where, as a qualifier, she beat Tsvetana Pironkova en route to the second round, where she lost to Agnieszka Radwanska. Despite her loss, Mertens reached a new career-ranking of World No.69. She then lost in the first round of the Malaysian Open to qualifier and eventual quarterfinalist Lesley Kerkhove. After that, she failed to qualify to both Indian Wells and Miami Open, losing in the first round of qualifying to Sachia Vickery and Alison Van Uytvanck, respectively.

At the Ladies Open Biel Bienne, Mertens upset No. 8 seed Monica Niculescu and beat Mona Barthel en route to the quarterfinals, losing there to eventual finalist Anett Kontaveit.

2018: First Grand Slam semifinal, three titles

Mertens began the season by becoming the first woman to win back-to-back titles in Hobart. She defeated Mihaela Buzărnescu in the final, defending her title from 2017. Along with Demi Schuurs, she also won the doubles title.

Mertens' season continued with her main draw debut at the Australian Open. She defeated qualifier Viktória Kužmová, 23rd seed Daria Gavrilova, Alizé Cornet and Petra Martić, all in straight sets, to advance to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. In the quarterfinal Mertens achieved her first victory over a top five ranked player, defeating Elina Svitolina, again in straight sets. With her win over Svitolina, Mertens became the third Belgian woman to reach the last four at the tournament, joining former ranking leaders Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters. In the semifinals she lost to Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets.

After her good form in Australia Mertens had some difficult weeks. She lost respectively in the first round of Doha, Dubai and Indian Wells and in the second round in Miami. In april she reached her fourth singles final and second of the year at the 2018 Ladies Open Lugano in Switzerland. She won the title after beating Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets. Together with compatriot Kirsten Flipkens she also won the doubles title. Two weeks later she also won the singles title at the Marocco Open by defeating Australian Ajla Tomljanovic in straight sets.

WTA career finals

Singles: 5 (4 titles, 1 runner-up)

Legend Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) WTA Tour Championships (0–0) Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0–0) Premier (0–0) International (4–1)

Titles by surface Hard (2–0) Grass (0–0) Clay (2–1) Carpet (0–0)

Outcome	W–L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1–0	Jan 2017	Hobart International, Australia	Hard	Monica Niculescu	6–3, 6–1
Runner-up	1–1	Apr 2017	Istanbul Cup, Turkey	Clay	Elina Svitolina	2–6, 4–6
Winner	2–1	Jan 2018	Hobart International, Australia (2)	Hard	Mihaela Buzărnescu	6–1, 4–6, 6–3
Winner	3–1	Apr 2018	Ladies Open Lugano, Switzerland	Clay	Aryna Sabalenka	7–5, 6–2
Winner	4–1	May 2018	Morocco Open, Morocco	Clay	Ajla Tomljanović	6–2, 7–6(7–4)

Doubles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runners-up)

Legend Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) WTA Tour Championships (0–0) WTA Elite Trophy (0–0) Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0–0) Premier (0–0) International (4–2)

Finals by surface Hard (3–0) Clay (1–2) Grass (0–0) Carpet (0–0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1.	9 January 2016	ASB Classic Auckland, New Zealand	Hard	An-Sophie Mestach	Danka Kovinić Barbora Strýcová	2–6, 6–3, [10–5]
Runner-up	1.	30 April 2017	Istanbul Cup, Turkey	Clay	Nicole Melichar	Dalila Jakupovic Nadiia Kichenok	6–7(6–8), 2–6
Runner-up	2.	23 July 2017	Bucharest Open, Romania	Clay	Demi Schuurs	Irina Camelia Begu Raluca Olaru	3–6, 3–6
Winner	2.	23 September 2017	Guangzhou Open, China	Hard	Demi Schuurs	Monique Adamczak Storm Sanders	6–2, 6–3
Winner	3.	13 January 2018	Hobart International, Australia	Hard	Demi Schuurs	Lyudmyla Kichenok Makoto Ninomiya	6–2, 6–2
Winner	4.	14 April 2018	Ladies Open Lugano, Switzerland	Clay	Kirsten Flipkens	Vera Lapko Aryna Sabalenka	6–1, 6–3

WTA 125 Series

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1.	22 November 2015	OEC Taipei WTA Challenger, Taiwan	Carpet (i)	Marina Melnikova	Kanae Hisami Kotomi Takahata	1–6, 2–6
Winner	1.	20 November 2016	Open GDF Suez de Limoges, France	Hard (i)	Mandy Minella	Anna Smith Renata Voráčová	6–4, 6–4

ITF finals

Singles: 13 (11–2)

Legend $100,000 tournaments $75,000 tournaments $50,000 tournaments $25,000 tournaments $15,000 tournaments $10,000 tournaments

Finals by surface Hard (10–1) Clay (1–1) Grass (0–0) Carpet (0–0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	21 April 2013	Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt	Hard	Arabela Fernández Rabener	6–4, 6–3
Winner	2.	20 October 2013	Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt	Hard	Klaartje Liebens	2–6, 6–2, 6–4
Winner	3.	27 October 2013	Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt	Hard	Klaartje Liebens	6–7(0–7), 6–1, 6–3
Winner	4.	28 December 2013	İstanbul, Turkey	Hard (i)	Karen Barbat	7–5, 4–6, 6–4
Winner	5.	23 March 2014	Ponta Delgada, Portugal	Hard	Bárbara Luz	6–2, 6–4
Runner–up	1.	1 June 2014	Hilton Head Island, United States	Hard	Caitlin Whoriskey	3–6, 6–7(5–7)
Winner	6.	8 June 2014	El Paso, United States	Hard	Ashley Weinhold	6–1, 3–6, 6–4
Winner	7.	28 June 2014	Bangkok, Thailand	Hard	Lee Pei-chi	6–3, 6–2
Winner	8.	5 July 2014	Bangkok, Thailand	Hard	Nungnadda Wannasuk	6–1, 6–1
Runner–up	2.	25 January 2015	Daytona Beach, United States	Clay	Daria Kasatkina	2–6, 6–4, 0–6
Winner	9.	3 May 2015	Pula, Italy	Clay	Yvonne Cavallé Reimers	7–6(8–6), 6–4
Winner	10.	3 October 2015	Ciudad Victoria, Mexico	Hard	Amandine Hesse	6–4, 6–3
Winner	11.	18 September 2016	Atlanta, United States	Hard	Melanie Oudin	6–4, 6–2

Doubles 23: (13–10)

Legend $100,000 tournaments $75,000 tournaments $50,000 tournaments $25,000 tournaments $15,000 tournaments $10,000 tournaments

Finals by surface Hard (10–8) Clay (3–2) Grass (0–0) Carpet (0–0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1.	6 April 2013	Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt	Hard	Justine De Sutter	Alina Mikheeva Jillian O'Neill	6–1, 6–4
Winner	2.	26 October 2013	Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt	Hard	Sandra Zaniewska	Valeriya Strakhova Karina Venditti	6–4, 6–7(5–7), [12–10]
Winner	3.	27 December 2013	İstanbul, Turkey	Hard (i)	İpek Soylu	Yuuki Tanaka Ekaterina Yashina	6–0, 7–6(7–3)
Runner-up	1.	25 January 2014	Tinajo, Spain	Clay	Arabela Fernández Rabener	Deborah Chiesa Yuliana Lizarazo	2–6, 6–3, [11–13]
Runner-up	2.	1 February 2014	Tinajo, Spain	Hard	Arabela Fernández Rabener	Hikari Yamamoto Ioana Loredana Roșca	1–6, 1–6
Runner-up	3.	8 February 2014	Tinajo, Spain	Hard	Bernice van de Velde	Lu Jiajing Petra Januskova	5–7, 7–5, [6–10]
Winner	4.	22 March 2014	Ponta Delgada, Portugal	Hard	Sviatlana Pirazhenka	Tereza Malíková Pernilla Mendesová	6–1, 6–2
Winner	5.	15 August 2014	Westende, Belgium	Hard	Ysaline Bonaventure	Marina Melnikova Evgeniya Rodina	6–2, 6–2
Winner	6.	22 August 2014	Wanfercée-Baulet, Belgium	Clay	Demi Schuurs	Tatiana Búa Daniela Seguel	6–2, 6–3
Runner-up	4.	11 October 2014	Monterrey, México	Hard	Arantxa Rus	Lourdes Domínguez Lino Mariana Duque	3–6, 6–7(4–7)
Winner	7.	1 November 2014	Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt	Hard	Alice Matteucci	Ioana Loredana Roșca Julia Terziyska	6–7(1–7), 7–6(7–4), [10–6]
Runner-up	5.	21 November 2014	New Delhi, India	Hard	Marina Melnikova	Liu Chang Lu Jiajing	3–6, 0–6
Runner-up	6.	25 January 2015	Daytona Beach, United States	Clay	Arantxa Rus	Sanaz Marand Jan Abaza	4–6, 6–3, [6–10]
Winner	8.	3 July 2015	Denain, France	Clay	İpek Soylu	Xenia Knoll Florencia Molinero	7–6(7–3), 6–3
Winner	9.	7 August 2015	Koksijde, Belgium	Clay	Demi Schuurs	Justyna Jegiołka Sherazad Reix	6–3, 6–2
Winner	10.	26 September 2015	Monterrey, Mexico	Hard	Ysaline Bonaventure	Marina Melnikova Mandy Minella	6–4, 3–6, [11–9]
Winner	11.	3 October 2015	Ciudad Victoria, Mexico	Hard	Ysaline Bonaventure	María Irigoyen Barbora Krejčíková	6–4, 4–6, [10–6]
Runner-up	7.	14 November 2015	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	Hard	İpek Soylu	Çağla Büyükakçay Maria Sakkari	6–7(6–8), 4–6
Winner	12.	29 January 2016	Andrézieux-Bouthéon, France	Hard (i)	An-Sophie Mestach	Viktorija Golubic Xenia Knoll	6–4, 3–6, [10–7]
Runner-up	8.	9 April 2016	Changwon, South Korea	Hard	Lu Jiajing	Han Na-lae Yoo Mi	6–4, 3–6, [7–10]
Runner-up	9.	14 August 2016	Landisville, United States	Hard	An-Sophie Mestach	Freya Christie Laura Robson	3–6, 4–6
Runner-up	10.	25 September 2016	Albuquerque, United States	Hard	Mandy Minella	Michaëlla Krajicek Maria Sanchez	2–6, 4–6
Winner	13.	29 October 2016	Tampico, Mexico	Hard	Mihaela Buzărnescu	Usue Maitane Arconada Katie Swan	6–0, 6–2

Grand Slam performance timeline

Singles

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

P#

DNQ

A

Z#

PO

G

S

B

NMS

NTI

P

NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Tournament	2015	2016	2017	2018	W–L
Australian Open	A	Q2	A	SF	5–1
French Open	A	Q3	3R	4R	5–2
Wimbledon	Q3	Q2	1R		0–1
US Open	Q1	1R	1R		0–2
Win–loss	0–0	0–1	2–3	8–2	10–6

Doubles

Tournament	2015	2016	2017	2018	W–L
Australian Open	A	A	2R	1R	1–2
French Open	A	A	1R	1R	0–2
Wimbledon	A	2R	3R		3–2
US Open	A	A	2R		1–1
Win–loss	0–0	1–1	4–4	0–2	5–7

Record against top 10 players

Mertens's record against players who have been ranked in the top 10 (as of 4 June 2018):

Player	Record	Win%	Hard	Clay	Grass	Last Match
Number 1 ranked players
Garbiñe Muguruza	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	Lost (6–2, 0–6, 3–6) at 2016 US Open
Jelena Janković	0–1	0%	0–0	0–0	0–1	Lost (6–0, 4–6, 3–6) at 2016 Mallorca
Simona Halep	0–2	0%	0–0	0–2	0–0	Lost (2–6, 1–6) at 2018 French Open
Caroline Wozniacki	0–2	0%	0–1	0–1	0–0	Lost (3–6, 6–7(2–7)) at 2018 Australian Open
Venus Williams	0–2	0%	0–0	0–1	0–1	Lost (6–7(7–9), 4–6) at 2017 Wimbledon
Number 2 ranked players
Agnieszka Radwańska	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	Lost (3–6, 2–6) at 2017 Dubai
Number 3 ranked players
Elina Svitolina	1–1	50%	1–0	0–1	0–0	Won (6–4, 6–0) at 2018 Australian Open
Number 4 ranked players
Francesca Schiavone	1–0	100%	0–0	0–0	1–0	Won 6–1, 3–6, 6–1 at 2016 Mallorca
Dominika Cibulková	1–1	50%	1–1	0–0	0–0	Won (7–6(7–4), 6–1) at 2017 Beijing
Johanna Konta	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	Lost (2–6, 1–6) at 2018 Miami
Number 5 ranked players
Sara Errani	3–0	100%	0–0	3–0	0–0	Won (6–3, 6–1) at 2018 Rabat
Eugenie Bouchard	1–0	100%	0–0	0–0	1–0	Won (6–2, 6–0) at 2016 's-Hertogenbosch
Number 6 ranked players
Carla Suárez Navarro	1–0	100%	0–0	1–0	0–0	Won (6–3,6–7(2–7), 7–5) at 2017 Båstad
Number 7 ranked players
Caroline Garcia	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	Lost (6–7(4-7), 4–6) at 2017 Wuhan
Madison Keys	0–1	0%	0–1	0–0	0–0	Lost (3–6, 6–7(6–8)) at 2017 US Open
Number 10 ranked players
Kristina Mladenovic	1–3	25%	1–2	0–1	0–0	Lost (4–6, 4–6) at 2018 Fed Cup
Total	9–17	34.62%	3–9 (25%)	4–6 (40%)	2–2 (50%)

Top 10 wins per season

#	Player	Rank	Event	Surface	Round	Score
2017
1.	Dominika Cibulková	No. 10	China Open, Beijing, China	Hard	1st Round	7–6(7–4), 6–1
2018
2.	Elina Svitolina	No. 4	Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia	Hard	Quarterfinals	6–4, 6–0

External links

• Elise Mertens at the Women's Tennis Association
• Elise Mertens at the International Tennis Federation
• Elise Mertens at the Billie Jean King Cup