ELISE MERTENS and Veronika Kudermetova have powered through to semi-finals of the ladies’ doubles, where they face Olivia Gadecki and Desiree Krawczyk.
Here we get to know Elise’s tennis coach and off-court partner Christopher Heyman — who isn’t the only tennis coach she has dated.
Seeded eight for Wimbledon 2025, Elise Mertens and Veronika Kudermetova opened with a convincing straight-sets win over British wildcards Hannah Klugman and Mika Stojsavljevic.
They carried their strong form into round two, defeating Marie Bouzková and Anna Danilina 6-2, 6-4.
Their dominant form continued in round three, beating Miyu Kato and Aldila Sutjiadi 6-3, 6-4, once again without dropping a set.
In round three, they had a walkover against Beatriz Haddad Maia and Laura Siegemund — the latter withdrew from doubles to focus on her singles quarter-final against Aryna Sabalenka.
In a tight quarter-final contest, they defeated Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), showcasing their resilience in the crucial moments of the second-set tiebreak.
New up they’re taking on Olivia Gadecki and Desirea Krawczyk on July 11, 2025, for a place in the Wimbledon 2025 ladies’ doubles showpiece.
Who is Elise Mertens’ boyfriend Christopher Heyman?
Christopher Heyman was born in Eupen, Belgium, on October 8, 1993.
He is the boyfriend of fellow Belgian tennis ace Elise Mertens.
Per Essentially Sports, their relationship became public in 2023, when Elise officially confirmed it.
Chris is a former ATP tennis pro with 19 ITF titles to his name and a career-high singles ranking of 258.
He remains active in the tennis world, having taken on a coaching role for his girlfriend Elise.
Chris has been a constant and supportive presence at Elise’s matches.
After her 2024 Australian Open doubles victory with Hsieh Su-wei, Chris shared a celebratory photo of himself and Elise with the trophy on Instagram.
He wrote: “To live through these moments together is magical. Moments I will cherish for a very long time #australianopen.”
Elsie responded to the post with heart and infinity emojis.
More recently, after Elise triumphed in the ladies’ singles at Libema Open in June 2025, Chris again posted a pic of the happy couple with the trophy.
He wrote: “This title is a culmination of the relentless fighting spirit Elise has every time she steps out onto the court.
“Saving 11 match points in the semi final, then going on to play the next day and push through is something one cannot teach.
“It is inspiring to witness. I am so happy for you and us as a team. We’ve earned it!
To which Elise replied: “Thank you for always being there for us, on & off court”, again followed by a red heart and infinity emoji.
Before dating Chris, Elise was in a long-term relationship with her former coach Robbe Ceyssens.
Who is her ex Robbe Ceyssens?
Robbe Ceyssens, Elise’s ex, was born in Belgium on April 6, 1993.
They first met in 2015 at the Kim Clijsters Academy, where Robbe was working as a tennis coach and Elise was training as a player.
He is a former tennis player himself, having competed mainly on the ITF circuit, achieving some junior-level wins before transitioning into coaching.
Robbe coached Elise for several years, including during the early part of her professional career, but they ended their formal coach-player relationship in 2021.
In December of that year, Elise posted on social media: “Robbe and I have decided to end our coach-player partnership.
“It’s been an incredible adventure together. No words can describe how much we learned from each other. I wish Robbe the best for the future.”
And while this may also sound like they ended their romantic relationship as well, that was thankfully not the case — at least not then.
However, nothing has been reported on exactly when or why they decided to call time on their romantic relationship.
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