The WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz made its way back to Europe this past week, at the WTA 500 Upper Austria Ladies Linz.
And though it was a relatively light field in Linz, with just 28 players, it was complemented by seven Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers across the globe, from Kazakhstan to Melbourne.
As the Clay-Court swing continues to heat up, and the Billie Jean King Cup Finals take shape, here's everything you need to know about what went down on the WTA Tour last week.
Star of the Week
Mirra Andreeva
Mirra Andreeva lived up to her billing as the top seed and favorite in Linz, winning her second title of the season and fifth of her career.
The World No. 9 took care of veterans Sloane Stephens and Sorana Cirstea in her first two matches, then rolled past Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the semifinals. In the final against former champion Anastasia Potapova, the 18-year-old recovered from a rough first set to take the championship match 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.
This was Andreeva's second career clay title, after winning Iasi in 2024, and she joins Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula as the only multiple-title winners on tour this year.
Breakthrough of the Week
Lilli Tagger
What a special week it was for 18-year-old Austrian Lilli Tagger, playing only her fourth WTA main draw and making her Linz debut in front of an energetic home crowd.
The teenager faced a tough draw, but picked up an impressive opening win over former World No. 2 Paula Badosa, the first main-draw win for an Austrian in Linz since 2013. She followed that up with an upset of third seed Liudmila Samsonova, her first Top 30 win, to reach her first career WTA 500 quarterfinal. She lost in the quarters to Potapova in an all-Austrian match, but Tagger's two wins moved her into the Top 100 (No. 97) of the PIF WTA Rankings for the first time, and she's now the youngest player in the Top 100. (She's a couple months younger than World No. 16 Iva Jovic.)
Speaking of the boon for Austrian tennis this past week, we also have to give props to Potapova, who is in her first year representing Austria. In addition to beating Tagger, Potapova took down Donna Vekic in the semis to become the first Austrian to make the final in Linz, which dates back to 1991.
Upset of the Week
Belgium d. USA, Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers
There is certainly a case to be made for Tagger's win over Samsonova, or Karolina Pliskova's drubbing of Ekaterina Alexandrova.
But we have to go with Belguim's upset of the United States, which has won the Bille Jean King Cup 18 times.
Yes, the tie was played in Belgium, on red clay. And yes, Lindsay Davenport's squad was without top stars Coco Gauff, Pegula, Amanda Anisimova and Madison Keys.
But the U.S., led by Jovic, was still expected to advance. Day 1 went sideways for the United States quickly when World No. 94 Hanne Vandewinkel knocked off Jovic 7-6 (3), 6-3. Then in the second match between Elise Mertens and McCartney Kessler, the American was forced to retire at 3-all in the decider with a back injury, giving Belgium the 2-0 lead.
Caty McNally and Nicole Melichar-Martinez won the doubles match to cut it to 2-1, but World No. 149 Greet Minnen responded with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Jovic to punch Belgium's ticket to the Finals.
For the full results from Qualifiers weekend, click here.
Best Match of the Week
Linda Noskova d. Belinda Bencic, Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers
This was a classic between a pair of Top 15 players. In a must-win match for Czechia, trailing Switzerland 2-1, Linda Noskova saved three match points and won a wild tiebreaker to beat Belinda Bencic 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (9). And Noskova's heroics didn't go to waste, as recent Bogota champion Marie Bouzkova ousted Viktorija Golubic 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the rubber match to send Czechia to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Best Shot(s) of the Week
Lilli Tagger's booming one-handed backhands
Tagger didn't just thrill the crowds with her wins -- she also did it with precise shot-making, most notably her signature one-handed backhand that always seems to find its spot.
She hit three absolute beauties in her opening-round win over Badosa, and two of them came in clutch moments: first to go up triple break point at 4-all in the opening set, and later to break for 6-5 in the second set.
We can't wait to see more of that backhand soon.
Throwback Performances of the Week
Sloane Stephens and Karolina Pliskova
A couple of former Top 5 players had nice wins in Linz. Stephens came from a set down to beat Tatjana Maria 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, her first Top 100 win since June 2024. These two veterans go way back; their first meeting was at the US Open 14 (!) years ago.
And Pliskova, who won this tournament back in 2014, beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich and then Alexandrova, her first Top 20 win in nearly two years. Coming into that match, Pliskova was 245 spots behind Alexandrova in the PIF WTA Rankings.
Best Off-Court Clip of the Week
Right where she belongs
It has to be Iga Swiatek hitting at the Rafa Nadal Academy, alongside her tennis idol Rafael Nadal and her new coach Francisco Roig.
Pegula and Keys commented on the clip on The Player's Box podcast, and their consensus was clear: It's a good move for Swiatek, and it's bad news for everyone else on tour.
Swiatek is playing her first clay-court tournament of the year, and her first tournament with Roig, in Stuttgart this week.
Social Moment of the Week
After Andreeva won the title in Linz, she was presented with perhaps the only thing better than a trophy: an enormous cotton candy.