Elise Mertens is a steady, intelligent all-court player who has long been more decorated on grass in doubles than in singles. Her first Wimbledon singles quarter-final in 2026 changed that balance and lifted her from 21st to 8th in the women’s GTC Grass Rankings, with a GTC Grass Rating of 116.
Grass at a glance
- GTC Grass Rating: 116, 8th in the women’s rankings (21st before the season, on 102)
- Pillars: Lawn Form 82, Arsenal 60, Wimbledon 64, Nerve 62
- Nationality: Belgium
- Best Wimbledon result: Quarter-final (2026)
- Grass titles: ‘s-Hertogenbosch 2025; Wimbledon doubles 2021 and 2025
- Plays: Right-handed, two-handed backhand
How Elise plays on grass
Mertens wins with timing and accuracy rather than power. She takes the ball cleanly off both wings, redirects pace well and returns solidly, which on grass lets her neutralise bigger hitters and force them to play extra balls. Years of doubles at the highest level show in her volleying and her comfort finishing points at the net.
The serve is the limit. It is reliable but not a weapon, so she rarely gets free points and has to work through most service games. That keeps her Arsenal score at 60. Her Nerve score of 62 reflects a player who seldom beats herself; at Wimbledon in 2026 she won a first-set tie-break against Elena Rybakina and then dominated the second set.
Grass record
Her grass highlights before 2026 came mostly in doubles. She won the Wimbledon women’s doubles in 2021 with Hsieh Su-wei and again in 2025 with Veronika Kudermetova. In singles her best Wimbledon results were three trips to the fourth round, in 2019, 2022 and 2025, the last ended by Aryna Sabalenka.
Her first grass singles title came in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2025, where she beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-3, 7-6(4) in the final.
The 2026 grass season
The warm-up events gave little warning of what followed. Berlin brought an early exit and a rating move only from 102 to 103. At Bad Homburg she won her opening match before Naomi Osaka beat her 6-3, 6-3, and the rating stayed at 103.
Wimbledon, where she was seeded 25th, was different. She beat Laura Siegemund 6-2, 6-4 in the first round, and in the third round beat 2nd seed Elena Rybakina 7-6(4), 6-1, having lost seven of their previous eight meetings. A 6-4, 6-4 win over Marie Bouzková took her to a first Wimbledon quarter-final at 30 and ended a six-year wait for a major quarter-final. Linda Nosková, the eventual champion, won it 6-3, 7-5. The run took her rating from 103 to 116, the biggest single jump on her profile.
Looking ahead to 2027
The challenge for 2027 is to show the Wimbledon run was a level rather than a peak. Her warm-up results were poor in 2026, so a schedule that gives her matches before London, such as a return to ‘s-Hertogenbosch, would make sense, with doubles commitments managed alongside. She will not out-serve the leading players, so the gains have to come from return pressure and first-strike patterns behind her second shot. A realistic target is the second week at Wimbledon again and a place in the top 10 on the GTC list.
