Renata Zarazua About

The grinder who beat a top-10 seed at a major for Mexico after a 30-year wait

Renata Zarazua is the most accomplished Mexican woman in tennis in a generation — the first to crack the top 100 in both disciplines, with a singles peak of world No. 51 on 25 November 2024, and a No. 72 doubles peak on 15 September 2025, the first Mexican woman to break into the top 100 in singles and in doubles. Born in Mexico City in 1997, the 5-foot-3 right-hander turned pro in 2014 and built her game the long way — years of ITF and Challenger apprenticeship, mostly on clay, before tour-level traction arrived in her late twenties.

The dirt-court upbringing reads in her numbers. Zarazua is a returner first: she holds a career record of 209-134 (60.9%) on clay versus 187-153 (55.0%) on hard, and the serve is functional rather than a weapon — she hits 75.5% on first serves but averages just 0.4 aces per match in 2026. The edge comes from depth, court coverage and a refusal to give away free points, the profile of a player who wins by extending rallies and forcing errors rather than ending them early.

The breakthrough year was 2024: a strong season saw her play the main draw at all four majors for the first time, reach the Mérida Open quarterfinals and climb to a career-high No. 51 in November after her maiden WTA 125 title at Charleston. Then came 2025's signature result — at the US Open she beat world No. 6 Madison Keys, her first top-10 win, becoming the first Mexican woman to beat a top-10 opponent there and the first to topple a top-10 seed at any major since 1995. She also reached her first tour-level semifinal in Sao Paulo that year, and a first-round win over Taylor Townsend made her the first Mexican player in 25 years to win a match at the Australian Open.

This season she remains a top-80 fixture, with a 2026 ledger of 17 wins to 13 losses, average form at 56.7%. Her clay run closed at the French Open, where she fell to Diana Shnaider.

Renata Zarazua at a glance

Renata Zarazua is 29 years old; was born in Mexico City, Mexico; stands 1.6 m; plays right-handed; and is ranked No. 94 in the WTA rankings.