Following the conclusion of Roland Garros, the grass-court season will get underway.
Prior to Wimbledon, multiple tune-up tournaments on the surface will take place, including Queen’s, where Serena Williams will make her long-awaited return to tennis.
Williams, 44, is set to play her first match since the 2022 US Open in doubles at the WTA 500 tournament alongside 19-year-old Victoria Mboko.
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Also appearing at the event are home hopes Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu, who is in search of her first win under the wing of new coach Andrew Richardson.
While the lineup is star-studded, there has been one omission which has angered fans.
Defending champion Tatjana Maria not given Queen’s wildcard
Last year’s champion Tatjana Maria will not automatically be in the main draw of Queen’s this year after missing out on a wildcard for the event.
Maria clinched the crown after beating Amanda Anisimova in the 2025 final, overcoming the American in straight sets.
Boulter, Francesca Jones, Harriet Dart and Mika Stojsavljevic were confirmed as the wildcards for the singles draw.
In response, one fan took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to say: “Outrageous! You want to promote this? Shameful the defending champion doesn’t get a wildcard.”
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Another fan said: “Embarrassing to leave out your champion in exchange for a bunch of Brits with no chance of winning.”
This user said: “I’m all for supporting our Brits, but not giving one of these four wildcards to defending champion Tatjana Maria is genuinely ridiculous.”
Finally, one fan stated: “What a shame for not giving the defending champion a wildcard, this is disappointing.”
Maria Tatjana’s incredible campaign at Queen’s in 2025
Maria recorded a fantastic campaign at Queen’s last year at 37 years of age.
After coming through qualifying, Maria beat former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez and went on to beat four top-ten-seeded players.
Maria overcame Karolina Muchova, Elena Rybakina, Madison Keys and Anisimova consecutively, dropping just one set en route.
Rybakina and Anisimova will both appear at Queen’s this year, as well as Mboko and Iva Jovic.
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