HSBC Championships 2026: Donna Vekic beats Katie Boulter to reach Queen’s Club final
• 3 minute read
Donna Vekic is the first player through to the HSBC Championships final after a stunning display against Britain’s Katie Boulter.
Vekic – who came into the tournament as a lucky loser – lost just six points behind serve to beat the British No.3 6-1, 6-3 and advance to Sunday’s final.
The Croatian lost in qualifying last weekend against Anna Blinkova and was training at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton when she got the call to say that fifth seed Marta Kostyuk had pulled out.
She raced over to The Queen’s Club to beat British teenager Mika Stojsavljevic, before completing a Czech double yesterday against Marie Bouzkova and former world No.1 Karolina Pliskova.
Now she is through to her first tour-level final since competing in the gold medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
A former Wimbledon semi-finalist and Nottingham champion, Vekic has a strong record on the grass and will be aiming to win her first WTA 500 title.
Awaiting her in the final will be either British No.1 Emma Raducanu or sixth seed Iva Jovic.
“To be playing on this incredible court is such an honour,” Vekic said after the match. “The more time I spend on the court the better it’s been for me so I’m happy I have another chance tomorrow.
“I’ve been improving with each match and that’s usually how it goes on grass. The more time you spend on it, the better you get. I’m really happy.
“I love this city. I spent a lot of time training here when I was younger so I have a lot of friends here and it feels like a second home to me."
Three key stats
- Dominant in attack - Vekic won 100% of points when she was on the attack compared to a draw average of 64%
- Serve quality - Vekic's serve shot quality was 8.5/10 due to a high first serve speed of 109mph vs draw average 98mph
- Effective serving - Vekic only dropped six points behind her serve all match
Vekic wasted no time in stamping her authority on the match – winning the opening three games in quick succession.
After a second break at 4-1, Vekic wrapped up the first set in half an hour with a big unreturnable serve.
The world No.76 kept pushing early in the second, and Boulter did everything she could to stay within touching distance. In the third game, the British star managed to hold off two break points, but made a crucial forehand error at the third time of asking.
Boulter kept fighting hard and saw off a first match point with a big cross-court forehand winner, but was faced with another just one point later.
This time it was Vekic’s turn to produce the goods, needling a clean backhand winner down the line to punch her ticket into the final.
Boulter leaves the HSBC Championships having reached the semi-finals for the first time and with a career-best win over world No.2 Elena Rybakina.
She’s currently set to jump 23 places in the live WTA rankings up to world No.56, restoring her place as British No.2.
Boulter is now set to travel to the Lexus Nottingham Open, where she will play fellow Brit Harriet Dart in the first round.
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