Accomplishing a new level in any tournament is a cause for joy. Sometimes, the joy can overwhelm stars and take them to tears. Elise Mertens recently experienced such a kind of joy recently. However, she was not alone in facing it. As she managed to attain newfound glory in the Indian Wells Masters, her former coach joined her in celebration and couldn’t hold back the tears.

Before the bout, no one would’ve expected Mertens to beat the four-time grand slam champion. However, the 29-year-old Belgian star managed to achieve a new milestone in the BNP Paribas Open.

Elise Mertens’ ex-coach and partner couldn’t hold his emotions after seeing her win against Naomi Osaka, four-time Grand Slam Champion

Mertens has never had luck when it comes to the first half of the Sunshine Doubles. Before her current win, she was able to achieve the best result in round 3 of the tournament. However, this changed after she won against Naomi Osaka and will now play in the round of 16. She beat Osaka 7-5, 6-4, in a great battle and left with her head held high.

As Mertens became emotional, her former coach and partner, Robbe Ceyssens, also couldn’t help but hold his tears back. He was seen hugging a member of Merten’s team and then sitting down, shedding tears of happiness. Beating Osaka is not an easy task, but Mertens found a way to be the dominant player. She will now face her biggest challenge in the championship so far.

Mertens will play against Coco Gauff in the Indian Wells and will have an even more difficult time in trying to go beyond the US Open champion. While Mertens achieved a milestone in the tournament, she has found much better luck in doubles.

Mertens’ immense success in doubles tennis

2024 was the first year Mertens managed to go beyond round 3 in the Indian Wells. However, she won the championship twice during the doubles stint. She won the championship for the first time in 2019 as she partnered with Aryna Sabalenka. The two shot down each duo in their path and dropped two sets on their way to a victory.

She then partnered up with Hsieh Su-Wei and won the championship by only dropping one set on her way to victory. They attained two bagels and breadsticks on their way to the final. From the first clash, it was evident that the trophy would be taken home by them. Mertens has not found similar glory in her singles stint.

However, she found a new milestone, and her achievement will be celebrated after her stint in the tournament ends.

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