Robin Montgomery won the Libéma Open after Barbora Krejčíková withdrew from the final
The final of the WTA Libéma Open tournament in the Dutch city of ’s-Hertogenbosch ended without a single point being played. Robin Montgomery won the title after Barbora Krejčíková, the eighth seed and a two-time Grand Slam singles champion, withdrew on the day of the final due to illness. According to announcements by the WTA Tour and the tournament organizers, the Czech tennis player, after consulting the medical team, was not fit to compete, so the final match was recorded as a victory for Montgomery by walkover. With that, the 21-year-old American claimed the first WTA title of her career, and she did so on grass in a week that began for her in qualifying.
The outcome was unusual for a tournament final, but clear from a sporting perspective: the title went to the player who had reached the final through qualifying and the main draw, while Krejčíková had to withdraw for health reasons. According to the official WTA draw, the final match was recorded as a WO in favor of Montgomery. The Libéma Open organizers announced that Krejčíková fell ill before the final, and the WTA relayed her statement in which she said she was disappointed because she could not play for the title, but that her health condition did not allow her to go out onto the court. Montgomery thus became the winner of the tournament played from June 8 to 14, 2026, on grass at the Autotron Rosmalen complex.
First WTA title and the biggest week of her career
For Montgomery, the title in ’s-Hertogenbosch is the biggest senior result of her career so far. According to WTA data, she entered the tournament as the world No. 484, and reached the final from qualifying, which makes her success one of the most striking surprises at the start of the grass-court part of the season. The WTA announced that Montgomery is the lowest-ranked winner of a WTA tournament since Elína Svitolina, who won Strasbourg in 2023 as the world No. 508. Although the final was not played, the title fits into a week in which Montgomery had already produced a series of significant victories on court and showed a level that far exceeded her ranking at the time.
Of particular significance is the fact that she is a player who was returning after a longer break. According to her WTA profile and the tournament report, Montgomery reached No. 95 in June 2025, the best ranking of her career, but an injury and wrist surgery kept her away from competition for several months. She returned to the Tour in spring 2026, and the Libéma Open was only her third WTA tournament of the season after early defeats in Bogotá and Madrid. In that context, the title in the Netherlands is not only the result of one week, but also confirmation that her comeback can quickly turn into a new rise in the rankings.
The tournament organizers stated that Montgomery found out on Sunday morning that the final would not be played while she was preparing for the match. In a statement carried by the Libéma Open, she spoke of mixed emotions because she had wanted to play against Krejčíková, but at the same time she had won the first title of her career. Such an outcome often leaves a different impression from a classic final victory, but tennis rules and practice clearly recognize the title for the player who remained ready to compete. Montgomery reached the final during the week through her own results, and the walkover in the finale did not diminish the fact that, to enter the title match, she had to overcome six previous obstacles, including two in qualifying.
The path from qualifying to the trophy
The official WTA draw shows that Montgomery first defeated Yuan Yue in qualifying in three sets, 6-7(4), 7-6(1), 6-1, and then Jodie Garland 7-6(3), 6-3. Even then, she showed resilience in tight situations, especially against Yuan, when after losing the first set she stayed in the match and turned the result around. In the main draw, she opened her campaign with a victory over Daria Kasatkina, 5-7, 6-0, 6-4, which was one of the key results of her week. The WTA highlighted that triumph as her first victory against a Top 100 player in a year.
After that came increasingly assured victories. Montgomery defeated Greet Minnen 6-4, 7-6(4) in the round of 16, and Daria Snigur 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, she beat Ajla Tomljanović 6-4, 6-2 and reached a WTA final for the first time in her career. That run showed that in the Netherlands she was not relying on just one surprising result, but on gradually raising her level of play throughout the entire week. On grass, where the serve, the first shot after the serve and aggressive taking of the initiative are often decisive, Montgomery, according to WTA reports, used her left-handed advantage and powerful serve to shorten points and impose her rhythm.
According to the tournament’s official website, Montgomery became the third American to win the title at the Libéma Open. Before her, the tournament had been won by Alison Riske-Amritraj in 2019 and Coco Vandeweghe in 2014 and 2016. The organizers particularly emphasized the similarity with Vandeweghe in 2014, because she too reached the title from qualifying. For Montgomery, who won the singles and doubles titles at the junior US Open in 2021, the Dutch trophy represents the first major senior proof that the potential from her junior days can be transferred to the highest professional level.
Krejčíková missed the final appearance after a week without losing a set
For Barbora Krejčíková, the ending had an entirely different tone. According to the organizers’ announcement, the eighth seed reached the final without losing a set, and in the semifinal she defeated Magda Linette 6-3, 7-6(4). In the quarterfinal, according to the official WTA draw, she was convincing against Elena-Gabriela Ruse, 6-1, 6-2, while earlier in the tournament she defeated Hanne Vandewinkel 6-1, 6-4 and Renata Zarazúa 6-1, 6-2. Such a run was important because in the Netherlands Krejčíková reached a WTA final for the first time since 2024, as the WTA stated in its tournament announcements.
Krejčíková entered the tournament as a player with far greater experience in big matches. According to her WTA biography, she won Roland-Garros in singles in 2021 and Wimbledon in 2024, while in doubles and mixed doubles she also built one of the most successful careers of her generation. That was precisely why the final against Montgomery had additional sporting interest: on one side was a multiple Grand Slam champion and the eighth seed, and on the other a qualifier who, after injury, was trying to rebuild her career. The absence of the match deprived the tournament of its final competitive climax, but it did not change the fact that both players had had a very strong week in terms of results by Sunday.
In the statement published by the WTA, Krejčíková said she was sorry that she had to withdraw from the final due to illness and that, after speaking with the medical team, it became clear that she was not fit to compete. She also congratulated Montgomery on a good week and expressed the wish to recover and return to competition as soon as possible. In professional tennis, such decisions are rarely made easily, especially when a final and the chance to win a title are involved. Still, the health assessment takes precedence over competitive risk, particularly in a period of the season in which new grass-court tournaments and Wimbledon follow.
The Libéma Open as an introduction to the grass-court part of the season
The Libéma Open in ’s-Hertogenbosch traditionally has an important place in the early part of the grass-court season. According to the WTA, the tournament is played on outdoor grass courts at Autotron Rosmalen and belongs to the WTA 250 category, with a main draw of 32 players in singles and 16 teams in doubles. The WTA states that the tournament has hosted women’s professional tennis since 1996. Its position immediately after Roland-Garros and before Wimbledon makes it an important stop for players transitioning from clay to grass and seeking competitive rhythm on a surface played for only a short part of the year.
In such a context, Montgomery’s title also has broader sporting significance. Triumphs from qualifying at WTA level often bring a major jump in the rankings, but even more importantly they can change a player’s status in the draws that follow. After the Dutch week, Montgomery will have more points, more confidence and clearer proof that her game can function against opponents of different profiles. The WTA announced that she is the third qualifier to win a WTA title in 2026, after Elisabetta Cocciaretto in Hobart and Sara Bejlek in Abu Dhabi. That fact shows that the season has already produced several unexpected winners and further underlined the depth of women’s tennis.
For Krejčíková, on the other hand, the week in the Netherlands still carries positive elements despite the disappointing ending. Returning to a final after a period of health problems and fluctuations in form is a sign that on grass she can again be competitive. Her WTA profile states that she missed the first five months of the 2025 season due to a back injury, and in 2026 she was again gradually returning to the rhythm of big matches. If she recovers quickly from the illness, the results from ’s-Hertogenbosch could serve as a foundation for the continuation of the grass-court part of the season, although the missed final opportunity will remain an unpleasant point of the tournament.
A title without play, but not without context
A walkover in a final always raises the question of perception, because the audience is left without the match that should conclude the tournament. Still, the tennis calendar often brings situations in which the health condition of a male or female player decides just as strongly as form. In this case, there were no official statements about an injury during the match itself, but about illness before going out onto the court, which was confirmed by the WTA and the tournament organizer. Montgomery, according to the available information, was ready to play, and Krejčíková withdrew only after a medical assessment. For that reason the result was entered without play, but the sporting and administrative procedure was clear.
For the Libéma Open, the ending of the women’s tournament was unusual, but the organizers tried to compensate for the absence of the final with an additional program. According to the tournament’s official website, after the title was confirmed, Montgomery took part in an exhibition program with former Dutch tennis players and in a meeting with fans in the fan zone. Such moves cannot replace a competitive match for the trophy, but they can ease the disappointment of the audience that had expected a duel between the young qualifier and the Grand Slam champion. The main sporting outcome nevertheless remains recorded: Robin Montgomery is the winner of the 2026 WTA Libéma Open, and her first senior WTA title came on grass in the Netherlands, after a week that could be a turning point in her career.
Sources:
- WTA Tour – report on Robin Montgomery’s title, Barbora Krejčíková’s withdrawal, ranking and WTA Tour context (link)
- WTA Tour – official overview of the 2026 Libéma Open tournament, category, location, surface, dates and draws (link)
- WTA Tour – official tournament draw and results, including the walkover in the final and Montgomery’s path through the draw (link)
- Libéma Open – official tournament announcement about Robin Montgomery’s first WTA title and Barbora Krejčíková’s withdrawal due to illness (link)
- Libéma Open – Robin Montgomery’s statement and reaction after winning the title (link)
- WTA Tour – Robin Montgomery profile with biographical data, ranking and career overview (link)
- WTA Tour – Barbora Krejčíková profile with an overview of Grand Slam titles and career (link)
- ITF – article about Robin Montgomery’s junior titles at the 2021 US Open (link)