Grass Court Season: What Happened this week?
- 10 hours ago
- 8 min read
Hi loves,
It’s that time of year. The grass court season has arrived! I love the grass, it makes me feel like summer is here, the sun has arrived and the vibes are fabulous. The main story of the week was the return to the court of Queen Serena. And, of course, for the next three weeks everyone has half an eye on Wimbledon, as is the case every year. The lead up events are crammed into three weeks, with top players stretched across each of them. Looking at last week, we had WTA events in Libema and Queen's, and we had ATP events in Libema and Stuttgart. It was a rainy week across the board, but we did manage to get the tennis done and dusted. My focus this week was Queen's, so let’s start there.
The HSBC Championships, Queen's Club, London - WTA500
There is really only one place to start. Serena Williams is back. The GOAT, the legend, the queen. She made her surprise comeback this week alongside Victoria Mboko in the doubles. After saying she was ‘evolving away’ from tennis in 2022, she decided it was the right time for her to compete again. Unfortunately, their run at Queen's was short-lived, as after coming through their opening round match Mboko fell and injured herself in her singles match against Karolina Pliskova. Mboko has since announced she has had to withdraw from Wimbledon which is a huge shame. She is such a talented young player, so to see her have such a nasty fall and injury is not fun at all. Well, you know what they say, I’m sure she will bounce back!
Serena is due to play doubles this week in Berlin with Karolina Muchova, and so the comeback continues! I wonder if the Wimbledon wildcard committee have her name in conversation this year…
This time of year is also an opportunity for us British tennis fans to see a LOT of Brits in action. British tennis may not be in the best place at the highest level, but we do have many players making their way slowly but surely up the rankings, and we will see these players at Wimbledon, I’m sure. Women’s British tennis had a great week, with Raducanu and Boulter reaching the final and semi final, respectively. Katie Boulter loves the grass. The power she can harness on this surface is a huge weapon for her, and she used not only that but also her variety to get the biggest win of her career against world number two Elena Rybakina. Boulter won in three sets (7-5 2-6 6-4) in front of a late evening Friday night London crowd. She unfortunately went on to lose fairly convincingly to eventual champion Donna Vekic the next day, but a win and a week to be proud of regardless for Katie who will be looking to keep up this momentum. Boulter has sadly had to pull out of her home tournament Nottingham this week with a little niggle, but better to be safe than sorry before Wimbledon. Tennis never stops, after all.
The other Brit who did a fabulous job this week is Emma Raducanu. It’s been a tough year for Emma. Honestly, I kept mentioning her in previous entries this year thinking ‘surely she is coming out of this illness and slump soon’, and when she didn’t I decided I wouldn’t really mention her until she did something positive worth talking about. Well, that lasted all of one entry because she was absolutely brilliant this week. She shone so bright (amongst all the rain), to be honest with you. I have to say, her renewed partnership with coach Andrew Richardson seems to have taken effect almost immediately. She wants to start playing the aggressive, hard-hitting, frontfoot tennis that helped her win the US Open five years ago, and that’s exactly what I saw this week. Her play felt instinctual, free and relaxed which is what I have always felt suits her the best. This is a huge step in the right direction for Emma, and even though she did not lift the trophy she was able to really prove she can do it when all the pressure is on her.
I don’t want to end this Raduacanu section on a negative, but I do have one question; does Raducanu have a ‘finals’ problem? She has reached two this year now (which is a big win in itself) and although she was unwell in her previous final in Transylvania, she seems to panic and let the nerves take over. She looked incredibly uncomfortable in the first set on Sunday. Yes, Vekic came out swinging (I will be talking about Vekic, don’t panic), but it seemed like Emma couldn’t figure out how to deal with it. Hopefully this mental block is something she can get over in time, and win her first WTA tour title as a result! Emma has pulled out of Nottingham this week, which is understandable after a long week at Queen's, and Iva Jovic has also withdrawn with a knee injury.
Perhaps unforgivably, I have got this far without talking about the new Queen of Queen's; Donna Vekic. From losing in qualifying to lifting the trophy, it was a fairytale week for the Croatian. Vekic loves playing on the grass, and she loves London; following her win she is actually now looking to buy a home in London. She is a former Wimbledon semi-finalist, so has grass court credentials. She absolutely stormed through the first set winning it 6-0 by serving ridiculously well, and honestly just hitting through Raducanu with her power and accuracy. Vekic won over 80% of her first serve points on Sunday, and for context the tour average is about 60%. She was powering through while her serve was landing, but then it dropped off, allowing Raducanu to take advantage. Vekic held strong, however, and recovered from being a double break down and winning the championship in a second set tiebreak. For a two set match it was thoroughly entertaining - see, women’s tennis is GREAT!
Next week the men take to the court at Queen's Club, and I will be visiting for the third year in a row - I’ll report back as to how my experience (and the weather) is!
Libema Open, 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands - WTA250
I hate to be a downer, but it was a sad end to Libema this year on the WTA side. Robin Montgomery, world number 484, got her first tour level title (yay, good news for Robin!), but it was by a walkover after Barbora Krejcikova withdrew (boo, bad news for Barbora). Krejcikova reached her first tour level final since winning Wimbledon in 2024. She does love playing on the grass, and, like Donna Vekic, has serious credentials on it. However, since her triumph in SW19 two years ago she has really struggled with injuries. She has lost in the first round at both grand slams this year, and I am sure she would have been happy to get back on the grass. She reached the final this week without dropping a set, and then very sadly had to pull out of the final before it even began with illness. I really do hope it is not a lasting illness and she can recover before Wimbledon, as she has pulled out of Nottingham this week also.
A little side story I liked was last year’s champion Elise Mertens being downed in the second round by the lady she beat to claim the title 12 months ago, Elena-Gabriela Ruse. Ruse went on to lose in the next round to Krejcikova, but it was a cool side story of the tournament to see somebody come back and topple the player they lost to the year before.
Libema Open, 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands - ATP250
Kamil Majchrzak shocked the Libema Open this week, claiming the title and defeating three top 10 players along the way. Felix Auger-Aliassime (6-4 6-3), Daniil Medvedev (7-6 6-1) and Alex De Minaur (6-3 2-6 7-6). Not only did he conquer these players, but this was also the 30 year old’s first tour title, and moves him into the top 50 for the first time in his career. He turned pro in 2013, so after 13 years of hard work, the Pole has finally pushed through that 50 barrier. I must admit, my focus was not on this tournament this week, but it is a great story to catch up on!
BOSS Open, Stuttgart, Germany - ATP250
Ben Shelton took home the trophy in Stuttgart by beating Taylor Fritz in the final. Shelton wasn’t really the story this week (sorry, Ben) but, in consolation, he has given us a fun stat; he is the first American to lift a trophy on hard (Dallas), clay (Munich) and grass in the same season since Sam Querrey did it 16 years ago in 2010. See, fun…right?
It felt like a week of comebacks, with Fritz returning to his favourite surface and Nick Kryios returning to tennis generally. Kyrgios is a controversial character (a simple Google search will tell you all you need to know) but he is also a very entertaining tennis player so it is good to see him back on court, especially on the grass. Kyrgios has only played one match in 2026 which came at the very start of the year in Brisbane. His comeback this week was cut short in the second round as he was beaten by qualifier and world number 104 Sho Shimabukuro in three sets.
Fritz did well this week to reach the final after having not won a match since March after being out with what we believe is chronic knee tendonitis - ouch. Although he struggled to get his matches won efficiently, that may actually be a blessing in disguise. More time on court means he can test his limits and improve his match fitness. Let’s just hope the long matches this week haven’t knackered him out too much.
Anyway, that is week one of the grass court season complete! This week, we have WTA events in Berlin and Nottingham, and on the ATP side we are in Halle in Germany and it is the Men’s turn to take to the court at Queen's Club in London. So many British men are in the draw, which is excellent to see - hopefully one or two of the lower ranked players can get a run and build some confidence before Wimbledon. It is the first week we will see most of the top players after the clay swing ended, so could be an interesting one. Here’s hoping anyway!
In other news last week, British player Dan Evans has announced he will retire from tennis after Wimbledon. The 36 year old has struggled on the tour following his decision to lose his 500 ranking points he gained in Washington in 2023 to play the Olympics with Andy Murray in 2024, the tournament Murray retired at. He has been a fixture in British tennis for 20 years, and will hope to receive a wildcard for Wimbledon, where he has appeared a total of 14 times in his long career. He has had his ups and downs, but deserves a proper send off.
So, onto the next busy week of tennis we go!
Until next time, keep serving!
El x
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