Kazakhstan's Anna Danilina (6) and Serbia's Aleksandra Krunic (5) won their opening match at the WTA-500 Queen's Club Championships against the Norwegian-American duo of Ulrikke Eikeri (44) and Quinn Gleason (36) with a score of 6:2, 6:4. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
The three-time Grand Slam runners-up, who lost the Roland Garros final last week, adapted to the grass faster than their opponents. They took the first set in just half an hour, 6:2.
Then a light drizzle began. On clay and hard courts, umpires allow some play in such conditions, hoping the rain will stop. But on grass, the slipperiest surface, matches are stopped immediately.
After a one-and-a-half-hour pause, play resumed. In the second set, Danilina and Krunic needed just one break. The final score was 6:2, 6:4 in 2 hours and 27 minutes, including the rain delay.
In the quarterfinals, the top seeds in London will face the world's 29th-ranked pair, Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia and Britain's Olivia Nicholls.
The main attraction of the doubles draw at the London tournament is Serena Williams, who returned to the court after a long break. The 44-year-old legend, teamed with 19-year-old Canadian Victoria Mboko (133), defeated the third-seeded duo of Nicole Melichar-Martinez (15) of the USA and New Zealand's Erin Routliffe (11) 7:6 (7:2), 6:2 in the first round. According to the draw, the Williams/Mboko pair can only meet Danilina/Krunic in the final.
Danilina is joined in London by Elena Rybakina (2). After an unsuccessful performance at Roland Garros 2026, Kazakhstan's top-ranked player hastily entered the Queen's Club Championships, where she was seeded first. Elena received a bye in the first round and will play Tatjana Maria (52) of Germany in the second round. In the first round, the German defeated Greece's Maria Sakkari (37) 6:3, 6:3.
The prize fund of the WTA-500 The HSBC Championships (sponsor name), which started on the courts of the Queen's Club in London, is $1.9 million. Over the years, the oldest tournament (first held in 1881) has been won by Margaret Court (Australia), Chris Evert (USA), Olga Morozova (USSR), and other stars.
From 1974 to 2024, the tournament was exclusively men's. Last year, the aforementioned Tatjana Maria won the final against Amanda Anisimova of the USA 6:3, 6:4. In the quarterfinals, the German defeated Rybakina 6:4, 7:6 (7:4).
In the 2025 doubles final, Danilina and Russia's Diana Shnaider lost to the American-Dutch duo of Asia Muhammad and Demi Schuurs 5:7, 7:6 (7:3), 4:10.
The grass court series precedes the third Grand Slam of the calendar year. Wimbledon 2026 will take place from June 29 to July 12.