Elise Mertens and Raphaël Collignon are set for demanding second-round matches on Thursday as they continue their campaigns at the tournament. Mertens, seeded No. 23 and ranked 21st in the world, will face Poland’s Maja Chwalinska for the first time on the professional circuit. The 24-year-old Chwalinska is ranked 114th and will meet the Belgian on Court No. 12 after a men’s singles match scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. Mertens advanced comfortably past Germany’s Tatjana Maria in the opening round and will be looking to maintain that momentum as she targets a place in the round of 16.
Later in the day, Collignon faces a much tougher challenge against American Ben Shelton, the world No. 5. The 24-year-old Belgian from Liège impressed in the first round by beating Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic in straight sets with authority, but Shelton represents a major step up in quality. The ATP encounter will be the first meeting between the two players and is scheduled as the fourth match on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
Mertens is also due to feature in doubles on Thursday, making for a busy day at the tournament. In women’s doubles, Magali Kempen and Andreja Klepac will open their campaign against the eighth-seeded team of Asia Muhammad and Fanny Stollar. Kempen, 28, is ranked 67th in doubles, while Klepac, 40, is ranked 184th. Their match is set as the final one on Court No. 8.
Mertens will also play alongside China’s Shuai Zhang in the doubles draw. The Belgian-Chinese pairing, seeded third, will meet Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk and Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse. Zhang, 37, is ranked 10th in doubles, while Mertens is the world No. 3 in the discipline. Their match is also scheduled as the last on Court No. 12, the same court where Mertens will appear in singles earlier in the day.
The day’s schedule gives Belgian players a prominent presence across both singles and doubles, with Mertens in particular facing a packed program. Her singles match against Chwalinska and two doubles commitments will test her endurance, while Collignon will aim to capitalize on his strong opening performance as he seeks one of the biggest wins of his career against Shelton.
