WTA Queen’s Club 2026 Final Results: Vekić Shocks Raducanu to Claim Historic Title

LONDON — The 2026 Queen’s Club Championships concluded with a historic and highly dramatic women’s final at the Andy Murray Arena. Croatian star Donna Vekić completed a dream week by defeating home favorite Emma Raducanu 6–0, 7–6(8–6) to capture the prestigious WTA 500 singles title.

Vekić’s victory is one of the most remarkable stories of the tennis season, as she won the tournament as a “lucky loser.” A lucky loser is a player who loses in the qualifying rounds but gets placed into the main tournament anyway because another player had to withdraw. Vekić turned that second chance into the biggest title of her career.

A Ruthless Start and a Spirited Fightback

Coming into Sunday’s final, Emma Raducanu was playing fantastic tennis. The 2021 US Open champion had reached the final without dropping a single set all week, causing excitement across Great Britain. However, Saturday had taken a heavy physical toll on the 23-year-old Briton. Raducanu had to play and win two matches in a single day, beating Kamilla Rakhimova in the quarter-finals and Iva Jovic in the semi-finals. During her first match, she suffered a hard fall and hurt her left thigh.

When Raducanu stepped onto the grass for the final with heavy white strapping on her leg, Vekić was absolutely ruthless. The Croatian grass-court specialist used her powerful baseline shots to move Raducanu all over the court. Raducanu struggled with her serve and looked tired, allowing Vekić to sweep through the first set 6–0 in just 28 minutes.

The London crowd refused to give up hope, and neither did Raducanu. In the second set, the British No. 1 found her rhythm and began swinging freely. She shocked Vekić by breaking her serve twice, storming to a commanding 5–2 lead. It looked certain that the match was heading to a third and deciding set.

But Vekić showed the heart of a champion. She fought off illness earlier in the week, relying on antibiotics to get through her first few matches, and she wasn’t about to give up. Vekić broke back, stopping Raducanu from serving out the set. Raducanu still managed to hold two set points while leading 5–4, but she played too safely in the big moments, and Vekić saved them both.

The set moved into a tense tiebreak. Raducanu bravely saved three championship points to keep her hopes alive, but on the fifth championship point, Vekić hit a brilliant winner right onto the line to win the tiebreak 8–6 and seal the crown.

Significance of the Victory

This victory marks Donna Vekić’s fifth WTA Tour singles title, her second title on grass (after winning Nottingham earlier in her career), and her first-ever WTA 500 trophy. She also became only the seventh lucky loser in WTA history to win a singles title, and the first since Sara Sorribes Tormo accomplished the feat in 2023.

Despite the painful defeat, Raducanu remained positive after the match:

“I haven’t really played much this season, but to think I have made two finals so far, which I haven’t done in years, it has to be celebrated,” Raducanu told reporters. “It’s a good achievement for me and I’m proud of it.”

Last year’s defending champion, Tatjana Maria of Germany, was unable to repeat her fairytale run from 2025. She was defeated in the second round by former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

Doubles Drama and a Legendary Comeback

The tournament also featured incredible stories in the doubles draw. The biggest news of the week was the unexpected return of tennis legend Serena Williams. The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, who had retired at the 2022 US Open, surprised the world by launching a doubles comeback.

Williams partnered up with 19-year-old Canadian rising star Victoria Mboko. The duo delighted fans by winning their opening match. Unfortunately, their run came to an early end when they had to withdraw before the quarter-finals due to a knee injury that Mboko suffered during her singles matches.

The defending doubles champions from last year, Asia Muhammad and Demi Schuurs, chose to play with different partners this year, and both lost in the very first round.

The doubles crown was ultimately won by the team of Tereza Mihalíková and Olivia Nicholls. They defeated the duo of Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund in a thrilling final. After splitting the first two sets 6–3, 6–7(4–7), Mihalíková and Nicholls won the high-pressure match tiebreak [10–5] to take home the trophy.

Prize Money and Ranking Points Distribution

Because Queen’s Club is a premium WTA 500 event with a total prize pool of $1,915,000 USD, both the singles and doubles players took home massive financial rewards alongside their ranking points.

Women’s Singles Payouts

For her incredible run from the qualifying cuts to the trophy presentation, Donna Vekić earned a massive top prize of $294,445 USD and the maximum 500 WTA ranking points. Emma Raducanu took home a runner-up check of $181,745 USD and 325 ranking points, giving her a major boost in the world rankings ahead of Wimbledon.

Finish	Prize Money (USD)	WTA Ranking Points
Winner (Donna Vekić)	$294,445	500
Runner-Up (Emma Raducanu)	$181,745	325

Women’s Doubles Payouts

In the doubles division, the winning team of Mihalíková and Nicholls split a prize of $97,680 USD and earned 500 ranking points each. The runners-up, Fernandez and Siegemund, split $59,370 USD and received 325 ranking points.

Finish	Prize Money (USD)	WTA Ranking Points
Winners (Mihalíková / Nicholls)	$97,680	500
Runners-Up (Fernandez / Siegemund)	$59,370	325

With the women’s week wrapped up in spectacular fashion, the courts at Queen’s Club will immediately transition to the ATP men’s tournament, keeping the high-stakes grass-court summer rolling in London.