Elise Mertens is a Belgian tennis star who reached the pinnacle of doubles tennis, becoming world No. 1 in May 2021—only the third Belgian to top a world ranking after Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin. She has captured six Grand Slam doubles titles, partnering with stars like Aryna Sabalenka, Hsieh Su-wei, Veronika Kudermetova, and Zhang Shuai, and also won the WTA Finals twice. In singles, she reached the 2018 Australian Open semifinal and achieved a career-high ranking of No. 12, collecting 10 WTA singles titles alongside her 18 doubles trophies. A dedicated competitor for Belgium, she has played in the Billie Jean King Cup since 2017 and competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Off the court, Mertens was home-schooled, speaks three languages, and was inspired by her older sister Lauren, who introduced her to tennis, as well as Belgian legends Henin and Clijsters, training at the Kim Clijsters Academy. Her journey from winning her first WTA title in Hobart in 2017 to becoming a multi-time major champion highlights her versatility and consistency across both singles and doubles.