Two halves of tennis couples meet at Arthur Ashe Stadium today. Jannik Sinner, who will be looking to put the ugly doping saga behind him, will take on Mackenzie McDonald. And interestingly, their respective girlfriends will also be on the court. While Sinner’s girlfriend Anna Kalinskaya will play her first-round singles match today, McDonald’s girlfriend is getting ready for her doubles opener. That’s right, Maria Mateas, who is reportedly dating McDonald, is also a racquet prodigy!

Originally from Romania, Mateas was born on July 21, 1999. Currently ranked a career-high 190, the WTA player came to the United States to attend Duke University from 2018 to 2019. Per the university’s website, Mateas came to the University after winning her first professional singles title in August at the Fort Worth Tennis Classic. Additionally, she had also been tabbed as the No. 27 junior player in the world in 2016, having played in the main draw of all 2016 junior grand slams.

Fast forward to eight years later, Mateas is now in the top 200 of the Women’s Tennis Association. Just yesterday, American Emina Bektas ousted Mateas, a wildcard entry, from the first round of the US Open. Next, the 25-year-old will play mixed doubles, pairing up with her boyfriend vs. Jamie Murray and Bethany Mattek-Sands.

As for the couple, Mateas and McDonald have reportedly been dating since 2022. At least their first instance of posting a picture together on social media came in July 2022 when the couple, who share the same initials, captioned the post, “Just a couple of M&M’s [heart emoji]”

Now many may remember Mackenzie McDonald from his rather shocking victory against Rafael Nadal in the second round of the Australian Open in 2023. Presumably watching the game from home at 1:30 AM in the night, Mateas had posted an image of her boyfriend on a TV screen with the caption “so proud of you,” with a heart and eyes full of tears emoji, followed by “my sweetness.”

Mateas and McDonald also traveled to Hawaii, where McDonald won the Waikiki Cup in 2022. The couple often post pictures of each other traveling around the world. They even appeared together on Season 3 of My Tennis Life, showcasing McDonald’s life off the court.

While one of Mateas’ biggest victories came at the 2018 Fort Worth Women’s Pro Tennis Classic, she is looking to make her name in the doubles category now. McDonald meanwhile, ranked 72, is back on home soil in the last major of the year. While there is no Nadal to beat in a Grand Slam this year, beating Sinner won’t be an easy task either. Is Mackenzie McDonald up for it?

After slaying former World No. 2, Mackenzie McDonald on his way to battle World No. 1

“Before, I wasn’t really up to beating a guy like that — or even believing I could,” Mackenzie McDonald told The Associated Press last year. He had just earned the biggest victory of his career against one of the best in the game, defeating Nadal 6-4, 6-4, 7-5, who was the reigning champion in Melbourne back then.

“I believed it more — and showed that,” McDonald continued. “I was on a mission more than on a vacation.” The American had been a star player at UCLA before he went pro. Once, in the Association of Tennis Professionals, elite tennis seemed out of grasp for McDonald. But then the win against Nadal changed everything.

Afterward, McDonald lost to Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan in the third round and struggled to come back up the rest of the year. But the 29-year-old has slowly worked his way up the ranks, and if he defeats Jannik Sinner today, he will have yet another top 5 win in his pocket!