Katie Boulter advanced to her first quarterfinal at the Queen's Club WTA 500 event on Thursday, dispatching Romania's Jaqueline Cristian 6-1, 6-3 in just over an hour. Boulter next battles top-seeded Elena Rybakina for a semifinal spot in the HSBC Championships.
The world No. 73 took control of her match against Cristian early, building a 4-0 lead in the match's opening set.
Boulter's forehand landed at a 95% clip, breaking Cristian's serve five times while converting 93% of her attacking points. A brief wobble in the second set did little to shift the momentum, as Boulter closed out the her opponent on her first match point.
Boulter, Rybakina Ready for Wimbledon Rematch at Queen's Club
Rybakina — currently No. 2 in the WTA rankings — fought back from a set down to knock out defending champion Tatjana Maria earlier in today's HSBC Championships action.
The former Wimbledon champion holds a 2-0 head-to-head edge over Boulter, including a straight-sets 2023 Wimbledon victory. However, Boulter carries strong grass-court form and home-crowd support into the semifinal showdown.
Wimbledon is upping the ante, as the London Grand Slam announced its raising this year’s overall prize money to £64.2 million — a £10.7 million leap from 2025.
The 20% increase marks the largest in tournament history. ATP and WTA champions will take home £3.6 million each, while first-round losers walk with £80,000.
“What has been decided this year is the biggest uplift ever in quantum terms,” said All England Club chair Debbie Jevans. “We’re proud to be able to do that through how we run the championships in such a sustainable way.”
The news comes after top stars publicly protested French Open revenue sharing. However, Wimbledon’s payout still falls below the 16% players are targeting.
“We’ve always been clear that we’re on the side of the players,” added Jevans, stressing All England Club’s nonprofit status. “Revenue does not take into account the contributions that we give.”
The grass-court Slam’s new total amounts to 15.1% of last year’s recorded revenue. That’s a tick up from 2025’s 13% split.
Wimbledon 2026 Broadcast Info & London Grand Slam Dates
Wimbledon kicks off on June 29th, live on ESPN.
The WTA grass-court season is here, and the 2026 Berlin Open has the field to prove it.
Nine of the world's Top 10 players will compete at the Rot-Weiss Tennis Club from June 15th through June 21st, making it one of the strongest fields ahead of the Wimbledon Grand Slam.
WTA Stars Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff Lead Singles Draw
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2 Elena Rybakina lead the 28-player singles draw as the top two seeds. No. 7 Coco Gauff joins them as she sharpens her game ahead of the All England Club.
Meanwhile, former Berlin champion Jessica Pegula and newly crowned French Open winner Mirra Andreeva add even more depth to the women's bracket. The official draw for the WTA tournament drops on Friday, June 12th.
But the singles draw isn't the only reason to watch the Berlin Open.
Serena Williams Returns for 2026 Berlin Open Doubles
Serena Williams accepted a wildcard entry to the 16-team doubles field alongside partner Karolina Muchova.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion recently returned to grass at Queen's Club. However, her doubles run was cut short when partner Victoria Mboko withdrew with a knee injury.
Mboko was also slated to compete at WTA Berlin 2026, but her status is still unknown.
With additional top-ranked players like No. 26 Madison Keys, No. 18 Sorana Cirstea, and No. 22 Elise Mertens also entering the draw, the Berlin Open provides a sneak peek of what's to come on at Wimbledon later this month.
Serena Williams saw her Queen's Club doubles run end Thursday, after partner Victoria Mboko withdrew from the tournament with a knee injury. The 23-time Grand Slam champion had returned to competitive tennis just two days earlier at the 2026 HSBC Championships.
On Tuesday, Williams paired with the 19-year-old Canadian for her first competitive match in four years.
Together, they defeated Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe in straight sets in front of a packed London crowd. The win set up a quarterfinal meeting with Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund.
However, the quarterfinal won't be taking place.
Mboko Withdraws from Williams Partnership with Knee Injury
Victoria Mboko slipped on the grass during her Wednesday singles match debut against Karolina Plíšková and injured her left knee. Citing a lack of stability, Mboko subsequently exited the Queen's Club grass court.
The world No. 9 was unable to recover in time for today's doubles commitment, forcing her to withdraw just hours before the scheduled match with Serena Williams.
Still, Williams's comeback tour continues. She heads to the Berlin Open next week to resume her doubles campaign alongside Karolina Muchova.
Mboko, meanwhile, will look to bounce back before opening her Wimbledon singles campaign later this month.
Victoria Mboko withdrew from her first-round singles match at the 2026 HSBC Championships on Wednesday, after the 19-year-old Canadian slipped and fell while trailing Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 3-4 on grass.
Mboko reportedly told her physiotherapist she had "no stability" after the fall, limping back to her bench and putting a towel to her face. Despite taking an immediate medical timeout, the tournament's No. 3 seed could not continue her grass-court singles debut at London's Queen's Club.
Mboko Injury Looms Over Doubles Run with Serena Williams
The setback now puts the world No. 9's doubles partnership with Serena Williams in doubt.
Williams, 44, returned to competitive tennis at Queen's Club after nearly four years away from the WTA Tour. Her last professional match came at the 2022 US Open.
On Tuesday, the pair opened with a straight-sets win over third-seeded Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez, 7-6(2), 6-2. They are next scheduled to face Canada's Leylah Fernandez and Germany's Laura Siegemund in Thursday's quarterfinals.
Whether Mboko can recover in time will determine if the partnership continues in the WTA 500 event.
US tennis star Iva Jovic advanced to the quarterfinals of the HSBC Championships 2026 with Wednesday's 6-2, 6-2 win over Alexandra Eala.
The world No. 19 needed just 77 minutes to close out the Queen's Club match, marking her first time reaching the WTA 500 tournament's final eight.
Jovic's Grass-Court Dominance Continues at Queen's Club
Iva Jovic's baseline depth kept Alexandra Eala on the defensive from the opening game.
The 21-year-old Filipino star entered the grass-court draw with momentum after capturing her first WTA 125 title in Birmingham last week. However, Jovic broke down her rhythm early, winning 71% of her second-serve return points to pull away with the win.
The 18-year-old WTA standout now holds a 10-1 career record on grass across all competitive levels.
Inside Tennis Stars Jovic and Eala's WTA Tour Friendship
The matchup came with an added layer, as Jovic and Eala maintain a close friendship off the court and have even teamed up as doubles partners in the past.
Their Queen's Club contest marked just their second singles meeting, after last month's first-round match at Roland Garros — which Jovic also won in straight sets.
"It's more fun playing doubles with her than being on the other side of the net," Jovic said of Eala after the win.
"Unfortunately we have to play in the early rounds but hopefully we play some finals soon enough. She's a great friend of mine and I'm very grateful for her."
Jovic now turns her attention to Friday's quarterfinal matchup against fellow US player Amanda Anisimova. Eala, meanwhile, turns her focus to Wimbledon as she chases a seeded spot in the annual Grand Slam's draw.
Serena Williams is back in the winner’s column, as the US tennis icon made a triumphant return to the court in Tuesday’s 7-6, 6-2 doubles victory alongside partner Victoria Mboko.
Playing in her first pro match since 2022, wildcard entry Williams and singles world No. 9 Mboko won a tricky first set against No. 3 seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe before comfortably taking the second.
“I was nervous, but I didn’t really think about it,” Williams said postmatch. “I just thought about having fun, which I did.”
The 44-year-old hasn’t confirmed her plans beyond this week’s HSBC Championships, opting instead to stay focused on Thursday’s quarterfinal.
“I got tired of sitting at home. My kids are out of school for the summer, so why not?” Williams told reporters. “I never got to play here, it was always just the men. It feels really special to play somewhere so iconic.”
Emma Raducanu opened her 2026 grass-court season with a straight-sets win on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old beat Russian qualifier Anna Blinkova 6-0, 6-3 at the Queen's Club HSBC Championships, wrapping up the match in just one hour on Andy Murray Arena.
Raducanu Plots Grass-Court Comeback After French Open Loss
Raducanu entered the Queen's Club tournament coming off a first-round French Open loss alongside a bout with a post-viral illness. Prior to that, she similarly exited the 2026 Strasbourg Open in the opening round.
However, with former coach Andrew Richardson back in her corner, the Brit showed few signs of rust.
She played aggressive, front-foot tennis against Blinkova from the opening serve, and swept through the first set without dropping a game. And a brief rain delay at the HSBC Championships did little to slow her down.
How Emma Raducanu Fended Off Anna Blinkova’s 2nd-Set Charge
Wind picked up in the second set, helping Blinkova to find her footing. The Russian subsequently broke Raducanu's serve twice as the Brit struggled with double faults.
Still, Raducanu regrouped when it mattered. She earned a late break to go up 5-3, before converting her second match point to close out the win.
The former US Open champion reached the quarterfinals at Queen's Club last year, but she'll look to go deeper this time around.
Up next is a second-round match against Sorana Cirstea, who survived Maddison Inglis in a tough three-set HSBC Championships battle earlier today.
Roland Garros aftershocks hit the WTA rankings, as qualifier-turned-finalist Maja Chwalińska later surged 93 spots to No. 21 following her fairytale French Open run.
Chwalińska is just the second Open Era qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final after Emma Raducanu. The 24-year-old also became the WTA’s lowest-ranked French Open finalist since the list’s 1975 debut.
“I know many, many great players that are ranked outside the Top 100 — it’s such a thin line now,” Chwalińska said after ceding the title to Mirra Andreeva.
“I hope that my story these last days is inspiring for them.”
Following her first Grand Slam win, Andreeva subsequently rose from No. 8 to No. 6. French Open semifinalists Marta Kostyuk hit a career-high No. 12, while Diana Shnaider jumped from No. 23 to No. 16.
However, US stars tumbled. Coco Gauff dropped from No. 4 to No. 7 after her third-round upset. Iva Jovic fell from No. 17 to No. 19, while Madison Keys plunged from No. 19 to No. 26.
WTA Singles Rankings Update: Top 25 (June 2026)
1. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) — 9,090 pts — No change
2. Elena Rybakina (KAZ) — 8,143 pts — No change
3. Iga Swiatek (POL) — 6,733 pts — No change
4. Jessica Pegula (USA) — 6,056 pts — ▲1
5. Amanda Anisimova (USA) — 5,848 pts — ▲1
6. Mirra Andreeva (RUS) — 5,751 pts — ▲2
7. Coco Gauff (USA) — 4,879 pts — ▼3
8. Elina Svitolina (UKR) — 4,315 pts — ▼1
9. Victoria Mboko (CAN) — 3,670 pts — No change
10. Karolina Muchova (CZE) — 3,438 pts — No change
11. Belinda Bencic (SUI) — 3,385 pts — No change
12. Marta Kostyuk (UKR) — 3,157 pts — ▲3
13. Linda Noskova (CZE) — 3,054 pts — ▼1
14. Jasmine Paolini (ITA) — 2,617 pts — ▼1
15. Naomi Osaka (JPN) — 2,571 pts — ▲1
16. Diana Shnaider (RUS) — 2,506 pts — ▲7
17. Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS) — 2,449 pts — ▼3
18. Sorana Cirstea (ROU) — 2,415 pts — No change
19. Iva Jovic (USA) — 2,366 pts — ▼2
20. Anna Kalinskaya (RUS) — 2,212 pts — ▲4
21. Maja Chwalinska (POL) — 1,996 pts — ▲93
22. Elise Mertens (BEL) — 1,918 pts — ▼1
23. Leylah Fernandez (CAN) — 1,844 pts — ▼1
24. Clara Tauson (DEN) — 1,800 pts — ▼4
25. Emma Navarro (USA) — 1,779 pts — No change
Serena Williams drew a tough first-round opponent for her Queen's Club doubles comeback.
She and 19-year-old partner Victoria Mboko will open against No. 3 seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe at the HSBC Championships. The match is set for June 9th in London.
Williams & Mboko Gear Up for Queen's Club Doubles Opener
Routliffe holds two Grand Slam doubles titles, while Melichar-Martinez has 19 WTA doubles trophies. But the seeded pair has never played a competitive match together.
Melichar-Martinez had planned to partner with Cristina Bucsa. However, she withdrew late with an injury. Routliffe, meanwhile, has teamed with several partners in 2026, including Jelena Ostapenko. And that late shuffle could work in Williams and Mboko's favor.
For Williams, the match marks a return to competitive play after stepping away from the sport in 2022, and she's chosen a partner already making a name on tour. Mboko has had strong showings at her last few WTA tournaments, including a finals appearance at the 2026 Strasbourg Open.
The pairing blends Williams's Grand Slam experience with the Canadian's recent form on clay and grass.
Still, Melichar-Martinez and Routliffe should give the newly formed duo stiff competition when they meet in the opening round.
How to Watch Serena Williams at the 2026 HSBC Championships
The Queen's Club runs through June 14th, with live coverage on The Tennis Channel.