Mertens describes brutal journey from WTA Finals to BJK Cup Finals
WTA
After her success at the WTA Finals, Elise Mertens had a hectic journey to make it in time for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Mertens is a very solid singles player. Her most notable achievement was reaching the 2018 Australian Open semifinal. She is also a two-time US Open quarterfinalist and seven-time WTA title winner.
However, Mertens' most significant successes have been in doubles. The Belgian is a three-time Grand Slam champion, securing major titles at the 2019 US Open, 2021 Australian Open, and 2021 Wimbledon Championships.
Her achievements this year, including finishing as the runner-up at Wimbledon with Shuai Zhang to Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, meant she qualified for the WTA Finals doubles, partnering Veronika Kudermetova.
After going unbeaten in their first four WTA Finals matches, Mertens and Kudermetova faced Krejcikova and Siniakova in the final. The pair upset the highly successful team 11-9 in the deciding 10-point tiebreak to secure the title.
That match was played on Monday. Many players would have chosen to skip the Billie Jean King Cup Finals because Belgium's opening match against Slovakia was scheduled for just two days later.
Mertens proved how much representing her country means by playing in the doubles, winning alongside Kirsten Flipkens, although Belgium still lost the tie 2-1 after Slovakia won the singles contests.
The three-time Grand Slam doubles champion detailed how stressful it was to make it to Glasgow for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, so it was a relief that she won her match after those efforts.
“I would be frustrated if I lost but we won, so this is all good. I had my flight at 10pm [from Fort Worth] and I was still doing media at 8:15pm. We rushed. I barely showered. We got to the airport at like 8:55pm. They said we had four minutes for the bags. One bag on the scale. Two minutes. Oh my God."
"My mom and I ran to the gate and we made it. Then three flights, we went to Madrid, went to London, and then to Glasgow."
