Big Upsets at Guadalajara Open: Young Stars Shock Top Seeds
In a thrilling day at the Guadalajara Open in Mexico, two rising tennis talents pulled off major surprises by knocking out the top seeds. Elsa Jacquemot stunned world number one seed Elise Mertens, while Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva took down second seed Veronika Kudermetova. These wins on September 12 in Zapopan mark their first time reaching the quarterfinals at a WTA 500 event, exciting fans of women’s tennis.
Both Jacquemot and Kasintseva, now 20 years old, dominated their matches against higher-ranked opponents. They both claimed girls’ singles titles at Grand Slams back in 2020—Kasintseva at the Australian Open and Jacquemot at Roland Garros. This Guadalajara Open run is their biggest achievement yet on the WTA Tour, with Kasintseva’s last quarterfinal coming three years ago in Seoul as a lucky loser, and Jacquemot making it to the final eight just last month at the WTA 250 in Cleveland.
Kasintseva delivered a strong performance, beating Kudermetova 6-4, 6-2 in 1 hour and 31 minutes. This victory marks her first win over a top-50 player, topping her previous best against Zhu Lin (then ranked 57th) at last year’s Mutua Madrid Open. The former junior champion showed her power and precision, keeping the Russian on the back foot throughout.
Meanwhile, Jacquemot’s match against Mertens turned into an epic comeback. Rain delayed the game the day before, but when they resumed on Thursday at the Pan American Tennis Center, Jacquemot was fired up. She trailed 4-6 in the first set but led 3-2 in the second when play stopped. Upon returning, she broke Mertens’ serve to go up 4-2, then won the set 6-3 to force a decider.
The third set got tense—Mertens fought back from 1-5 down to make it 4-5, but Jacquemot stayed calm and sealed the 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win after 2 hours and 25 minutes. Mertens struggled with 62 unforced errors, handing Jacquemot her career-best victory by ranking. Jacquemot won eight of the last 10 games after the rain break, proving her resilience in WTA upsets.
These shocking results highlight the Guadalajara Open’s unpredictability. Jacquemot and Kasintseva join four other unseeded players in the quarterfinals: Colombia’s Emiliana Arango, 17-year-old American Iva Jovic, and wild card Nikola Bartunkova. With so many young underdogs advancing, the final eight promises more excitement in this key WTA 500 tournament. Tennis fans can’t wait to see who rises next in Mexico.
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