Queen's Club 411: Dates, who's playing, prize money and more
The Grass-Court Swing has arrived.
After two months on the clay, the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz is taking to the grass, and the swing kicks off at the legendary Queen's Club in London.
The WTA 500 HSBC Championships in West Kensington returned to the WTA Tour calendar in 2025 after more than 50 years, and the tournament dates all the way back to 1881.
Along with the Libema Open in s-Hertogenbosch, which will run concurrently, the HSBC Championships will give us the first glimpse of who's in form on the grass in the run-up to Wimbledon.
Here's everything you need to know about the tournament, from important dates and notable players to defending champions and prize money at stake.
When does the tournament start, and when will each round be played?
The qualifying tournament will be held on Saturday, June 6 and Sunday, June 7, and first-round action will begin the following day. The doubles draw will also get underway on Monday, June 8.
The tournament will run through Sunday, June 14, when both the singles and doubles finals will be played. The singles final is schedule for 1:30 p.m. local time, and the doubles final will follow 35 minutes later.
Below are the daily schedules for singles and doubles play.
Singles schedule
Qualifying: June 6 and June 7
First round: June 8 and June 9
Second round: June 10 and June 11
Quarterfinals: June 12
Semifinals: June 13
Final: June 14
Doubles schedule
First round: June 8, June 9 and June 10
Quarterfinals: June 10 and June 11
Semifinals: June 12
Final: June 14
How big is the draw, and who are the top players in the field?
The HSBC Championships features a 28-player singles draw, which includes 18 direct entries, six qualifiers and four wild cards. The top four seeds will receive byes into the second round.
There are three Top 10 players in the field. World No. 2 Elena Rybakina will be the top seed, and she'll be joined by No. 6 Amanda Anisimova and No. 9 Victoria Mboko. Jessica Pegula was initially scheduled to play, but she pulled out earlier this week.
Other notable players in the loaded field are Belinda Bencic, Roland Garros semifinalist Marta Kostyuk, Iva Jovic and Zheng Qinwen, who was added to the main draw following Hailey Baptiste's injury withdrawal. Sorana Cirstea and Emma Raducanu will also be making their Queen's Club debuts in London.
To see the full player list, click here.
The singles draw will be revealed on Saturday, June 6 at 1:30 p.m. local time in Trafalgar Square.
The women's draw will feature 16 teams, and includes the highly-anticipated return of 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams after more than four years away from tennis.
Williams, 44, made the blockbuster announcement on Monday morning.
"Queen's Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter," she said. "Grass has given me some of the most meaningful moments of my career, and I'm excited to be back competing on one of the sport's most iconic stages."
Williams will play doubles with Mboko.
The doubles draw will also be revealed on June 6.
Wild cards: Katie Boulter, Francesca Jones, Harriet Dart, Mika Stojsavljevic
Withdrawals: Jessica Pegula, Linda Noskova, Diana Shnaider, Anna Kalinskaya, Hailey Baptiste, Ann Li
Main-draw additions: Zheng Qinwen, Karolina Pliskova, Alexandra Eala, Laura Siegemund, Maria Sakkari, McCartney Kessler
Who are the defending champions?
The feel-good return of Queen's Club to the WTA Tour last season came with a fittingly feel-good story. Tatjana Maria, then 37, came through qualifying and beat four Top 20 players to pick up the biggest title of her career.
The mother of two defeated Anisimova in straight sets in the final after beating Leylah Fernandez, Karolina Muchova, Rybakina and Madison Keys earlier in the week.
"It means a lot to me," the German veteran said after upsetting Anisimova 6-3, 6-4. "People were always saying, 'Oh, now maybe it's time. You are too old. You are...'" -- whatever reasons they say. I'm a good example that even in my age, you still can win big trophies.
"I'm super proud of myself that I could win this tournament, because actually, I believed always in it, and my husband, too. That's why we kept also going, because there was always this belief that I can win big tournaments and that I can do great things on the court."
Maria became the first WTA player to win Queen's Club since Olga Morozova in 1973.
Maria, currently No. 54 in the PIF WTA Rankings, is a main-draw alternate this year.
Asia Muhammad and Demi Schuurs are the defending doubles champions. They beat Anna Danilina and Shnaider in the final.
This year Muhammad is playing with Fanny Stollar, Schuurs is partnering with Ellen Perez and Danilina is teaming with Aleksandra Krunic. Shnaider isn't in the doubles draw.
What are the rankings points and prize money at stake?
Last year, upon the HSBC Championships' return to the WTA Tour, the Lawn Tennis Association announced it was increasing prize money for its WTA tournaments (which also includes the Lexus Eastbourne Open), and stated its commitment to equal prize money at both events no later than 2029.
In the first year of the tournament -- in its current iteration -- the prize money at the HSBC Championships was $1.415 million, making it the highest-paying WTA 500 event in the world for its draw size.
In 2026, total prize money at Queen's Club has increased to $1.915 million.
Here is the full prize money and rankings points breakdown for the singles competitors.
Champion: $294,445 | 500 rankings points
Finalist: $181,745 | 325 rankings points
Semifinalists: $104,770 | 195 rankings points
Quarterfinalists: $53,135 | 108 rankings points
Round of 16: $28,245 | 60 rankings points
Round of 32: $20,160 | 1 ranking point
The doubles champions will take home $97,680 and 500 rankings points.