Donna Vekić reaches HSBC Championships semifinal after marathon Friday at Queen's Club
Donna Vekić reached the semifinal of the WTA 500 tournament HSBC Championships 2026 at London's Queen's Club after defeating Karolina Pliskova 6:4, 4:6, 6:3 in the quarterfinal played on June 12, 2026. According to the official WTA draw, the match was part of the sixth day of the grass-court tournament, in the quarterfinal stage, and with the victory Vekić broke through among the last four players of the tournament in West Kensington. The result shows a match in which neither player had complete control from beginning to end: Vekić took the first set, Pliskova responded in the second, and the decision came in the third section, which the Croatian tennis player closed out with 6:3. In its report after the matches, the WTA stated that this was their 12th head-to-head meeting and that Vekić has now won the last three duels against the Czech player. The victory had additional weight for Vekić because on the same day she had to complete two singles matches, after weather conditions the previous day disrupted the schedule.
Two victories in one day and entry from lucky loser status
According to the WTA, Vekić used the opportunity she received in London as a lucky loser, that is, as a player who, after losing in qualifying, subsequently entered the main draw. The WTA reported that she received a place in the main tournament after Marta Kostyuk withdrew because of an ankle injury. Such an entry often does not bring an ideal rhythm, because a player has to quickly redirect her preparation after the disappointment of qualifying, but Vekić drew the maximum from it at Queen's Club. In the first round, according to the official WTA draw, she defeated Mika Stojsavljevic 6:2, 6:3, and then in the round of 16 she beat Marie Bouzková 7:6(9), 6:3. That match against Bouzková was additionally demanding because, according to the WTA report, it was completed after interruptions caused by rain, which meant that on Friday Vekić first had to finish the job for the quarterfinal, and then return to the court against Pliskova.
Such a schedule significantly changes the physical and mental dynamics of a tournament. A player must enter the competitive rhythm again in one day, adapt to another opponent and maintain concentration without the usual recovery time. In that context, Vekić won a very tight first set against Bouzková, and then handled the second set more securely, opening the way toward the quarterfinal. A few hours later Pliskova awaited her, an opponent with a different style, a stronger serve and great experience on grass. The very fact that Vekić passed two Czech players on the same day was additionally emphasized in the WTA report, in which her Friday was described as a double success on the way to the semifinal.
A quarterfinal decided by the third set
In the quarterfinal against Karolina Pliskova, according to the official WTA result, Vekić opened better and won the first set 6:4. Pliskova, however, showed why her game on grass remains dangerous even after a period marked by injuries, so she took the second set by the same margin, 6:4. That sent the match into a third set, in which Vekić again found a path to a score advantage and closed out the contest with 6:3. The available official score record does not provide detailed statistics on the number of aces, break points or first-serve percentage, so presenting such data would be imprecise. What is confirmed is that Vekić, after losing the second set, managed to keep the direction of the match and respond in the decisive phase, which is especially important in the context of her second match on the same day.
This result continued Vekić's more recent positive run in head-to-head duels with Pliskova. The WTA states that the London quarterfinal meeting was the 12th edition of their rivalry and that Vekić won the last three meetings. That is a relevant detail because Pliskova was for years one of the most difficult opponents on fast surfaces, especially because of her serve and early taking of the initiative in rallies. Vekić, on the other hand, has often built her best career results when she could play aggressively and close points quickly, which comes particularly to the fore on grass. At Queen's Club this brought her a WTA 500 semifinal and one of the most important results of her 2026 season.
Pliskova returned in London to a court that suits her
Karolina Pliskova arrived at Queen's Club as a player whose career has already been marked by the highest levels of women's tennis, but also as a tennis player who in recent seasons was returning after serious injury problems. According to her WTA profile, Pliskova became on July 17, 2017 the first Czech woman to reach the No. 1 spot on the WTA rankings since computerized rankings were introduced in 1975. The WTA also states that she was a finalist at the 2016 US Open and Wimbledon 2021, and that in her career she has won 17 WTA singles titles. These facts explain why her ranking at the time of the tournament does not give the full picture of the danger she brings, especially on grass. According to her WTA profile, at the time of the tournament she was in 106th place in the singles rankings, but her experience still remained significantly greater than what the number next to her name suggests.
Her path to the quarterfinal also had a special background. According to the LTA report, Pliskova in the first round, after a hard fight, defeated McCartney Kessler 6:7(1), 6:3, 6:4, with five breaks of serve in the second and third sets. In the round of 16, according to the official WTA draw, she advanced against Victoria Mboko after the Canadian player retired at 6:2, 3:4 from Pliskova's perspective. In a separate profile of Pliskova, the WTA highlighted that she missed a large part of the 2025 season because of recovery from ankle surgery she had after the 2024 season. In that light, the quarterfinal in London represented confirmation that the former world No. 1 can again compete seriously on a surface that rewards her strongest shots.
Queen's Club again an important stop in the women's grass-court part of the season
The HSBC Championships at Queen's Club holds a special position in the calendar because it is located at the beginning of the grass-court part of the season, immediately after the period of clay-court tournaments. According to the WTA tournament guide, this year's edition is being held from June 8 to 14, 2026, while qualifying was scheduled for June 6 and 7. The WTA states that it is a WTA 500 tournament on grass with a singles draw of 28 players, in which the top four seeds have a first-round bye. The tournament is held in London's West Kensington, and Queen's Club is one of the most recognizable grass-court stages in professional tennis. For players targeting a strong performance at Wimbledon, such tournaments have double importance: they bring points and prize money, but even more they serve as a test of movement, serve and adjustment to the low bounce of the ball.
The return of the women's tournament at Queen's Club additionally strengthened the significance of this competition. According to the WTA, the tournament returned to the WTA calendar in 2025 after more than 50 years, and 2026 is the second edition in its new phase. The WTA also announced that the total prize money for 2026 amounts to 1.915 million US dollars, with semifinalists in the singles competition earning 104,770 dollars and 195 ranking points. Quarterfinalists, according to the same announcement, have secured 53,135 dollars and 108 points, which means that with the victory over Pliskova, Vekić significantly increased both the sporting and ranking-point effect of the tournament. In the context of a season in which she was seeking continuity, such a result can have greater value than the placement among the last four itself.
Vekić's context: from big 2024 results to the search for stability in 2026
According to her WTA profile, Vekić was at the time of the tournament the 76th player in the singles rankings, with a win-loss record of 19:13 in the 2026 season. Her career up to the London semifinal includes four WTA titles, and the WTA lists Kuala Lumpur 2014, Nottingham 2017, Courmayeur 2021 and Monterrey 2023 as her victories. She made her greatest breakthrough in 2024, when, according to the WTA career overview, she reached the Wimbledon semifinal and won the silver medal at the Olympic Games in Paris. The WTA especially emphasizes that this was the first Olympic medal in women's singles tennis for Croatia. At the beginning of 2025 she reached No. 17 in the world rankings, which is her best career ranking according to the official WTA profile.
The 2026 season for Vekić before Queen's Club had ups and downs. The WTA states that she was a finalist at WTA 125 tournaments in Manila and Istanbul, and in London she reached her second semifinal at tour level in the season. Such a fact suggests that the London result is not an isolated flash, but a continuation of a gradual return of result stability. Victories on grass meanwhile have special value for a player who has already proved that she can play deep into Wimbledon. Queen's Club was therefore for Vekić more than a preparatory tournament: it was an opportunity to connect competitive rhythm, points and confidence in the most sensitive part of the calendar before the biggest grass-court tournament.
The semifinal against Katie Boulter brings a new type of pressure
After the quarterfinal, the WTA announced that Vekić would play in the semifinal on June 13, 2026 against Katie Boulter. The British tennis player entered the last four after a victory over top seed Elena Rybakina 7:5, 2:6, 7:5, and the WTA states that earlier the same day she had defeated Jaqueline Cristian 6:3, 6:1. That means both semifinalists entered the closing stage after a double Friday, but from different positions: Vekić as a lucky loser who used a subsequent entry into the main draw, Boulter as a home wildcard player who achieved one of the biggest victories of the week. According to the WTA, Boulter was at the time of the tournament the 73rd player in the world, and the victory over Rybakina was her second victory over a player from the Top 5 competition. In such a framework, the semifinal carries not only a fight for the final, but also a test of the ability to maintain the level of play after an emotionally and physically exhausting day.
The head-to-head record also offers an additional story. The WTA states that Boulter and Vekić, before the London semifinal, had played only once, in San Diego, when Boulter won 6:4, 6:3 in the quarterfinal. The British player went on to win the tournament, which gives a certain weight to that meeting, but conditions at Queen's Club are significantly different. Grass rewards short decisions, the first shot after serve and stability on low bounce, and both players in London have already shown that they can adapt to a changing rhythm. For Vekić, the key will be to maintain the solidity from the third set against Pliskova and avoid lapses like those that enabled the Czech player to return in the second section. For Boulter, in front of the home crowd, the pressure will be of a different kind, because the victory over Rybakina opens expectations that must be confirmed a day later.
A result that changes the tone of the grass-court part of the season
Reaching the semifinal at Queen's Club for Vekić comes at a moment when every victory on grass can change the tone of the continuation of the season. According to WTA data, the tournament carries 500 points for the winner, 325 for finalists and 195 for semifinalists, so the London performance already has a concrete reflection on the rankings. But the sporting impression is equally important: Vekić in the space of a few hours defeated Bouzková and Pliskova, both players capable of playing very uncomfortably on faster surfaces. Against Pliskova she also endured the change of rhythm after losing the second set and confirmed the victory in the third. Such matches often have greater value than routine results because they test endurance, tactical adjustment and the ability to recover under real tournament pressure.
For the tournament in London, Vekić's progress additionally confirms how open this year's edition is. In the same part of the draw, according to the WTA, Boulter knocked out top seed Rybakina, while Iva Jovic defeated Amanda Anisimova, the second seed and finalist at Queen's Club in 2025. Such an outcome shows that the beginning of the grass-court season often brings changes in hierarchy, because form from clay courts does not automatically transfer to grass. Vekić found space in that transition for one of her most valuable weeks in 2026. After the victory over Pliskova, her London tournament is no longer just a story about subsequent entry into the draw, but about a player who in a demanding schedule earned a semifinal of a prestigious WTA 500 tournament.
Sources:
- WTA – report on the Queen's Club quarterfinals, Donna Vekić's victory over Karolina Pliskova, lucky loser status and semifinal against Katie Boulter (link)
- WTA – official draw and results of the HSBC Championships 2026, including Vekić's results against Stojsavljevic, Bouzková and Pliskova (link)
- WTA – guide to Queen's Club 2026 with tournament dates, draw format, prize money, points and context of the tournament's return to the WTA calendar (link)
- WTA – official profile of Donna Vekić with data on ranking, career, titles, Olympic silver and 2024 results (link)
- WTA – official profile of Karolina Pliskova with data on ranking, titles, Grand Slam finals, No. 1 spot in the WTA rankings and recovery after ankle surgery (link)
- LTA – official news and results of the HSBC Championships 2026, including Pliskova's victory over McCartney Kessler in the first round (link)