The grass court season is well underway and while we find ourselves counting down the days until Wimbledon there’s the perfect warm-up for the grand event to enjoy first: the Queen’s Club Championships.
Queen’s gives us a good understanding of who is in form and who isn’t for Wimbledon, and it always serves as a great opportunity for players to set themselves up for an enthralling summer on court.
Here are all the key details regarding this year’s tournament.
Where is it?
Queen’s Tennis Club, West Kensington, London.
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When is it?
The main draw of the tournament starts on Monday 13 June, with the qualifiers having taken place over the weekend beginning Saturday 11 June.
The tournament will run until Sunday 19 June.
How does it affect Wimbledon?
It serves players with a great chance to adapt or strengthen their grass-court game ahead of The Championships with up to five matches for players who reach the final.
Who is the reigning champion?
Italian Matteo Berrettini is the current champion of Queen’s having defeated British number one Cameron Norrie in last year’s final. He went on to reach the Wimbledon final and will be returning to defend his crown in W14 this week.
Which British stars are set to compete?
Norrie will be returning, hoping to at least reach the final again. He will be joined by Britain’s No. 2 Dan Evans, while both Andy Murray and Jack Draper have been handed wildcard entries. However, Murray now looks a doubt after suffering a hip injury in the Stuttgart Open final at the weekend.
Who are the other top players in attendance?
Casper Ruud, Taylor Fritz, Denis Shapovalov, Diego Schwartzman, Reilly Opelka, Grigor Dimitrov, Alex de Minaur and Gael Monfils.
Current world No 6 Carlos Alcaraz was set to compete but has since pulled out because of an elbow injury. It remains to be seen whether or not he will make it to Wimbledon.
Has anyone ever won Queen’s and gone on to win Wimbledon in the same year?
Yes, it has happened 10 times with seven different players. John McEnroe was the first to accomplish the feat in 1981 before doing so again in 1984. The other two players to have done it twice are Pete Sampras in 1995 and 1999, and Andy Murray in 2013 and 2016. The other players to achieve the feat were Jimmy Connors (1982), Boris Becker (1985), Lleyton Hewitt and Rafael Nadal (2008).
Who holds the record for most titles at Queen’s?
Andy Murray. The Scotsman has won the singles title five times (2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016) and he also boasts a doubles title too (2019).
Who has appeared in the most finals?
Major Ritchie. The Brit made the final on eight occasions, more than any other player in the tournament’s history. He was also the oldest player to win the singles title at the age of 38 in 1909.
Who is the youngest winner at Queen’s?
Boris Becker. The German was 17 years 207 days old when he won his first and only Queen’s title in 1985 before then going on to become the youngest Wimbledon men’s singles champion at 17 years 228 days old three weeks later.
