The grass-court season hits full stride this week as the tour’s busiest stretch before Wimbledon gets under way, with two ATP 500s, a stacked WTA 500 and a British 250 all running into the weekend of June 21.
Queen’s flips to the men. Having staged the women’s WTA 500 first, The Queen’s Club now hands its grass over to the ATP 500 field for the week of June 15-21. The notable absentee shapes the storyline as much as the entrants: two-time former Queen’s champion Carlos Alcaraz is sitting out the entire grass swing with the right-wrist injury (tenosynovitis) that has already cost him Roland Garros and forced his withdrawal from Wimbledon — a run of three straight SW19 finals that now ends. Alex de Minaur leads the names in action, fresh from a runner-up finish in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
Halle’s heavy hitters. The Terra Wortmann Open at Halle’s OWL Arena assembles one of the deepest grass fields of the year, headlined by home favourite Alexander Zverev, defending champion Alexander Bublik, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Félix Auger-Aliassime and Flavio Cobolli, with Nick Kyrgios also slated to return on a surface that has long suited him. The fast indoor-outdoor conditions reward first-strike tennis, making Halle a true Wimbledon barometer.
Berlin loads up. On the women’s side, the Berlin Open’s WTA 500 is the marquee draw: world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2 Elena Rybakina top a 28-player field that organizers say includes nine of the world’s top 10 — among them Jessica Pegula, Amanda Anisimova, Coco Gauff, Elina Svitolina, Madison Keys and Victoria Mboko, plus freshly crowned Roland Garros champion Mirra Andreeva. Serena Williams is entered in the Berlin doubles, extending her comeback into Germany.
Nottingham and the bigger picture. The Lexus Nottingham Open rounds out the week with a WTA 250 and an ATP Challenger as British grass-court tennis spreads its load. Looming over all of it is world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who arrives on grass in formidable form and, with Alcaraz out, shapes as the overwhelming Wimbledon favourite. Two weeks remain until the Championships begin on June 29.
