The grass season has opened in style at Queen’s, where Francisco Cerúndolo and Donna Vekić lifted the titles at one of British tennis’ most storied clubs. As the sport returns to its original surface, we examine what their victories reveal about the weeks ahead, and who is beginning to shape the road to Wimbledon.
With Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner sidelined, the men’s tour has opened up. Alcaraz is expected back no earlier than the American swing, while Sinner is resting until Wimbledon, leaving the field free to chase valuable ATP 500 titles before the grandest Slam of all.
On Sunday, it was Francisco Cerúndolo’s turn. He broke both a personal and national barrier, becoming the first Argentine man to lift the Queen’s Club trophy while claiming his maiden ATP 500 title. His comeback victory over long-time friend Tommy Paul, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3, set the London stands alight. After three hours and two minutes, the Argentine recovered from a set and a break down to overcome his opponent on grass, a surface that has not always rewarded him. Cerúndolo’s previous grass title came at Eastbourne in 2023. Since then, the surface has hardly been his speciality: he suffered first-round exits at every grass tournament he entered across 2024 and 2025.
Yet something in Cerúndolo’s approach appears to have shifted since his third-round exit at Roland Garros in May. After a defeat that fell short of expectations, he returned to Buenos Aires to decompress, reset and refocus on the next prize. He came back with an addition to his team: Nicolás Massú, the former Chilean world No.9. In his first week coaching Cerúndolo, Massú watched him lift his maiden Queen’s trophy. “Nico, what a week. But don’t get used to it,” Cerúndolo joked in his post-match interview.
It is a formidable start to the grass season for both coach and player, with Cerúndolo now ranked world No.21. Next comes Eastbourne, where he enters directly in the round of 16 on Wednesday. The Argentine will look to carry this level into Wimbledon, where he has won just one match across five appearances.
Donna Vekić entered the Queen’s draw as a lucky loser. One week later, she defeated Emma Raducanu on home soil, 6-0, 7-6, to claim her first WTA 500 title and remind the tour of her grass-court pedigree. A Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2024, Vekić had lost in qualifying before Marta Kostyuk’s withdrawal handed her a place in the main draw.
The opening set was straightforward for the Croatian, with Raducanu offering little resistance. The Briton then threatened a comeback, leading 5-2 in the second, before Vekić reset, forced a tie-break and silenced the home crowd.
For Vekić, this was the biggest title of her career and a warning to the rest of the tour. Grass has a habit of reshuffling the hierarchy, rewarding players whose timing, movement and first-strike tennis can suddenly trouble far higher-ranked opponents.
Many readers still associate grass-court tennis almost exclusively with Britain. Yet Germany and Spain have built their own distinctive stops, attracting many of the tour’s leading players before Wimbledon.
In Germany, Halle welcomed names including Roland Garros champion Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton, Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli and Félix Auger-Aliassime. Launched in 1993, the Halle Open was upgraded from ATP 250 to ATP 500 status in 2015. That same year, Stuttgart switched from clay to grass, strengthening Germany’s position as a key pre-Wimbledon destination. Halle now stands alongside Queen’s as one of the grass season’s leading warm-up events.
The German swing belonged to the Americans. Ben Shelton claimed his second title of the year in Stuttgart by defeating compatriot Taylor Fritz, before Frances Tiafoe overcame Fritz again in the Halle final. Their success raises a familiar Wimbledon question: can an American man finally end the country’s title drought, which stretches back to Pete Sampras in 2000?
Mallorca offers a different proposition. The island hosts an ATP 250 featuring names such as Luciano Darderi, Frances Tiafoe, Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Running since 2021, the tournament is directed by Toni Nadal and was developed in cooperation with Wimbledon, combining elite grass-court preparation with a distinctly Mediterranean sense of hospitality.
Grass season continues this week as the Mallorca Championships and Eastbourne compete for attention. Both ATP 250 events begin today and run until 27 June, offering the final competitive tune-up before Wimbledon.
On the Women’s Side, Bad Homburg Open – a WTA 500 – and Eastbourne run alike.
