Shot of the Month: Watson shines on her home soil

Great Britain's Heather Watson has often saved some of her best form for the events in her home country, and she did it again as a magical play at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham earned her the Shot of the Month honors for June.

In her second-round match against former World No.1 Karolina Pliskova, Watson charged to the net and executed a brilliant no-look pass that zipped far from the former Wimbledon finalist's reach.

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Watson's acumen on the lawns of Nottingham is not a surprise, as the 32-year-old has posted some top results on the grass. She is a four-time tour-level semifinalist on the surface, all of those performances coming in the U.K.

Guernsey's Watson particularly excels on grass at her home major of Wimbledon. She won her Grand Slam title in the Wimbledon mixed doubles alongside Henri Kontinen in 2016, and they reached the final again the very next year.

Watson's career-best Grand Slam results in singles and women's doubles have also come at the grass-court major. She reached the Wimbledon Round of 16 in singles in 2022, and the quarterfinals in women's doubles at SW19 alongside Tatjana Maria in 2018.

And of course, Watson had a famous Wimbledon Centre Court battle with Serena Williams in the 2015 third round, where Watson was two points away from victory before narrowly falling to the eventual champion.

Watson lost to her doubles partner Greet Minnen in the Wimbledon singles this year. Watson and Minnen will contest the women's doubles this fortnight, and Watson will also partner Joe Salisbury in the mixed.

More Shots of the Month
March: Schuurs and Stefani dazzle with the tweener
April: Jabeur's artistry kickstarts a big win in Madrid
May: Swiatek's unreal defense in Rome