Donna Vekić wins Queen’s Club: from lucky loser to the biggest title of her career
Donna Vekić won the WTA 500 tournament at London’s Queen’s Club after defeating Emma Raducanu 6:0, 7:6(6) in the final on June 14, 2026. According to the official report by the British tennis association LTA, the Croatian tennis player converted her fifth match point in the final at the Andy Murray Arena, thereby concluding one of the most unusual winning weeks of her career. She entered the main draw as a lucky loser, after a defeat in qualifying had already brought her close to elimination from the tournament, but a spot that opened later gave her a second chance. She used it in the best possible way and reached her fifth WTA singles title. The triumph is especially significant because it is her first title at WTA 500 level, the highest tournament category she has won so far.
The final carried additional weight because Raducanu was playing in front of the London crowd, in the first WTA 500 final of her career and her first final on grass. The LTA states that the British tennis player reached the final match without losing a set, but against Vekić she opened the encounter extremely poorly and lost the first set without winning a game. The second set brought a completely different picture, with Raducanu’s comeback, pressure from the crowd and a dramatic finish in the tie-break. During that period, Vekić showed the stability that has often brought her the best results of her career precisely on grass. The title at Queen’s Club is therefore more than an individual success: it is a strong confirmation of form immediately before Wimbledon.
A final marked by an almost perfect first set
According to LTA data, Vekić played almost flawlessly in the first set. She broke Raducanu’s serve three times and lost only one point on her own first serve, with a record of 11 out of 12 points won when she landed her first serve. Such a start completely changed the dynamic of the final. Raducanu entered the match as a player who had received great support from the stands during the week and who had built strong momentum with previous victories, but Vekić did not allow her any rhythm in the first half hour. The Croatian tennis player aggressively attacked shorter balls, entered rallies early and held her service games without visible fluctuations.
The second set opened the door for a turnaround. The LTA reported that Raducanu, carried by the energy of the crowd, led 5:2 and had two chances to serve for the set, including two set points. At that moment, Vekić did not retreat, but continued looking for shorter exchanges and pressure on her opponent’s second serve. She managed to recover the lost break, extend the set and force a tie-break, even though Raducanu saved three match points in the closing stages before entering the decisive points. The British player saved another match point while trailing 5:6 in the tie-break, but Vekić remained calm enough and closed out the match 8:6 in the additional game. Such an outcome further emphasized the contrast between the dominant start and the extremely tense finish of the final.
A second chance turned into a title
The status of a lucky loser in tennis refers to a player who is defeated in qualifying but still enters the main draw because another player withdraws. That path rarely turns into a title at a tournament of this level, so Vekić’s success in London has additional sporting value. According to LTA reports during the tournament, after entering the main draw Vekić first took advantage of the opportunity against young British player Mika Stojsavljević, then defeated Marie Bouzková in a demanding match and continued against experienced Karolina Pliskova. In the quarterfinal part of the tournament, she beat Pliskova 6:4, 4:6, 6:3, confirming that she can withstand long and changeable matches on grass. In the semifinal, she then stopped Katie Boulter 6:1, 6:3 and earned a final against Raducanu.
That run of victories was especially important because Vekić arrived at the tournament as a player outside the group of seeds. According to her WTA profile, ahead of the closing stages of Queen’s Club she was the world No. 76, although in her career she had already been No. 17 in the WTA rankings. Such a gap between her current ranking and top-level results describes her career well in recent seasons: alongside periods of injuries, fluctuations and early exits, she has retained the ability to score big wins when conditions suit her. Grass has traditionally been one of her most favorable surfaces because it rewards the first strike, serve and decisiveness in short exchanges. In that sense, Queen’s Club was the ideal place to regain confidence.
The biggest trophy in a collection built over more than a decade
In Donna Vekić’s official profile, the WTA states that before the London title she had four WTA titles: Kuala Lumpur 2014, Nottingham 2017, Courmayeur 2021 and Monterrey 2023. The title at Queen’s Club is her fifth on the WTA Tour and her second on grass, after the triumph in Nottingham. After the final, the LTA pointed out that it was her first trophy at WTA 500 level, which places this result ahead of her previous titles by tournament category. According to the WTA tournament preview, the Queen’s Club winner receives 500 ranking points and prize money of 294,445 US dollars. For a player who entered the tournament as a lucky loser, such a points and results outcome has exceptional value for the rest of the season.
Vekić’s London success continues the strongest period of her career at major competitions. In its career overview, the WTA states that in 2024 she achieved her best Grand Slam result by reaching the Wimbledon semifinal, where she lost to Jasmine Paolini, and that in the same year she won the Olympic silver medal in singles in Paris. In the same official profile, the WTA states that this was Croatia’s first Olympic medal in women’s singles tennis. At the beginning of 2025, she also reached her career-high ranking, No. 17 in the WTA rankings. For all these reasons, Queen’s Club is not an isolated flash, but a continuation of her proof that on grass and in big matches she can compete with players of the highest level.
Raducanu left without her first title since the US Open
For Emma Raducanu, defeat in the final means that the search for a new WTA title continues. Ahead of the final, the LTA recalled that the British player was seeking her first WTA title after her sensational US Open triumph in 2021. Despite the defeat, Queen’s Club brought her an important step forward because she reached a WTA 500 final for the first time and her first final on grass. During the week she defeated Anna Blinkova, Sorana Cirstea, Kamilla Rakhimova and Iva Jovic, and against Jovic in the semifinal, according to the LTA, she won 6:2, 6:2 in her second match of the same day. That schedule was the result of rain that had earlier disrupted the program, which meant the final stages of the tournament required additional physical and mental adjustment.
Raducanu entered the semifinal after overcoming hamstring problems against Rakhimova, as reported by The Guardian. The same outlet reported that after the victory over Jovic she emphasized how much it meant to her to play a final in London, in front of a crowd with whom she has a strong emotional connection. Although the final against Vekić began very badly, the second set showed why her week at Queen’s Club was important for the continuation of the season. She came back after losing the first set 0:6, built a 5:2 lead and created chances for a third set. She did not take them, but her performance at the tournament still confirmed that on grass she can again play at a high level against strong opponents.
Queen’s Club once again an important stop in women’s tennis
The Queen’s Club tournament has a special place in the grass-court part of the season. In its preview of this year’s edition, the WTA stated that the WTA 500 HSBC Championships in West Kensington returned to the calendar in 2025 after more than 50 years of the women’s tournament being absent from that location. In earlier announcements, the LTA recalled that Tatjana Maria in 2025 became the first winner of the women’s tournament at Queen’s Club since 1973. The 2026 edition was held as the second modern WTA tournament at that location, in the week from June 8 to 14, while the men’s ATP 500 section follows from June 15 to 21. In this way, Queen’s Club once again has the role of one of the most prominent grass-court events ahead of Wimbledon.
In its tournament preview, the WTA emphasized that Queen’s Club, together with the simultaneous tournament in ’s-Hertogenbosch, provides the first serious insight into players’ form after the end of the clay-court part of the season. Grass often changes the balance of power because it shortens rallies, rewards a quality serve and requires quick adaptation of movement. In such conditions, players with experience on grass can quickly make up for a weaker ranking or previous fluctuations. Vekić demonstrated exactly that in London: without seeded status, but with the experience of a Wimbledon semifinal and an Olympic final, she managed to control the most important moments of the tournament. Her title therefore also carries a broader message about the variability of the grass-court season, in which form often matters more than the initial position in the draw.
A major boost two weeks before Wimbledon
The official Wimbledon website states that The Championships 2026 takes place from June 29 to July 12. This means that the title at Queen’s Club came at exactly the moment when players are entering the most important part of preparation for the only Grand Slam on grass. For Vekić, such a result is especially valuable because she is returning to the surface on which in 2024 she achieved the best Grand Slam result of her career. The victories in London bring her points, a trophy and confidence, but also concrete proof that she can win in succession against different profiles of players. In the final, she combined a dominant serving performance in the first set with fighting spirit in the closing stages of the second, a pattern that often decides big matches on grass.
For Raducanu, Queen’s Club remains a missed opportunity, but not an unsuccessful week. According to the LTA, she played a WTA 500 final for the first time, and reached it with a series of wins that showed progress in movement, aggression and continuity on grass. The final also served as a reminder of how quickly a match on this surface can change: after a set without winning a game, she reached a 5:2 lead and set points, but against an experienced opponent she failed to close out the set. Vekić, on the other hand, emerged from the London week with the biggest title of her career and one of the most valuable stories of the season. She arrived at Queen’s Club as a player who had already been defeated in qualifying, and left it as a WTA 500 champion and one of the tennis players whose form will be followed especially closely ahead of Wimbledon.
Sources:
- LTA – official report on the result and course of the HSBC Championships 2026 final, as well as information on the players’ paths through the tournament (link)
- WTA – official profile of Donna Vekić with information on ranking, titles and the most important results of her career (link)
- WTA – preview of the Queen’s Club 2026 tournament with information on format, prizes, points and the historical context of the tournament’s return (link)
- The Guardian – report on Emma Raducanu’s path to the final, including the injury in the quarterfinal and the semifinal victory (link)
- Wimbledon – official date information for The Championships 2026 (link)