New Surface, New Stakes: Who’s Ready for the Grass Court Season?
The transition from clay to grass is a significant one, much like going from zero to 60 in a short span of time. The soft landings and high bounces on red dirt give way to low, skidding darts on grass, making it a tough turnaround after the French Open. According to WTATennis.com, there are six Hologic WTA Tour grass tournaments in the three weeks leading into Wimbledon, with three of them being 500s, featuring loaded fields, in London, Berlin, and Bad Homburg.
This abrupt change can make grass an unpredictable and slippery slope. As WTATennis.com notes, the past three champions at the All England Club – Elena Rybakina, Marketa Vondrousova, and Barbora Krejcikova – were not exactly expected to win. Rybakina was ranked No. 23 coming in, Vondrousova was the first unseeded women’s winner in Wimbledon history, and Krejcikova was ranked No. 32. As the WTATennis.com article states, “No one saw that trio coming.”
Who will it be this year? Could it be French Open champion Coco Gauff? Perhaps. According to WTATennis.com, only seven players in the Open Era have pulled off the rare Roland Garros-Wimbledon double, winning both in the same year. This feat was achieved in three straight seasons in the early ’70s but has become increasingly rare since. Steffi Graf accomplished this feat four times, while Serena Williams is the only player to do it this century. The WTATennis.com article lists the players who have achieved this impressive feat:
* Margaret Court (1970)
* Evonne Goolagong (1971)
* Billie Jean King (1972)
* Chris Evert (1974)
* Martina Navratilova (1982, 1984)
* Steffi Graf (1988, 1993, 1995, 1996)
* Serena Williams (2002, 2015)
As the grass-court season begins, WTATennis.com poses a trivia question. According to the WTATennis.com article, reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys has been the most proficient on grass by a fairly wide margin. She has the low, flat shots that work on this slick surface, with three of her 10 career titles coming on grass, two in Eastbourne and another in Birmingham.
“The tennis season doesn’t really allow you to ease into anything,” Keys said after losing in the Roland Garros quarterfinals to eventual champion Gauff, as reported by WTATennis.com. “So I’m going to London tomorrow, and I imagine I’ll be on grass on Friday. That’s kind of the reality of the sport.”
The reality is that there’s always someone right behind. According to data from WTATennis.com, some of the top players with impressive grass-court records include:
* Iga Swiatek 15-7 (.682), Wimbledon quarterfinalist in 2023
* Coco Gauff 21-10 (.677), three-time Round of 16 appearances
* Emma Navarro 10-5 (.667), 2024 quarterfinalist
* Aryna Sabalenka 28-17 (.622), semifinalist 2021 and 2023
The WTATennis.com article also notes that the grass-court swing offers players three weeks – and up to 1,500 points – to shake up the Race to the WTA Finals.
The upcoming schedule, as reported by WTATennis.com, includes:
* Week 1: Queen’s Club (WTA 500) and ‘s-Hertogenbosch (WTA 250)
* Week 2: Berlin (WTA 500) and Nottingham (WTA 250)
* Week 3: Bad Homburg (WTA 500) and Eastbourne (WTA 250)
Some notable grass-court performers over the past two years, according to WTATennis.com, include:
* Daria Kasatkina: 866 points earned on grass, including a WTA 500 title in Eastbourne last year
* Ekaterina Alexandrova: 683 points earned, highlighted by her 2023 title in ‘s-Hertogenbosch
* Madison Keys: Champion in Eastbourne (2023), semifinalist in 2024
* Diana Shnaider: Claimed the 2024 WTA 500 title in Bad Homburg; second-most grass points on tour that year after Kasatkina
Homefield advantage may play a role for British players Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu, who are more accustomed to playing on grass than most players. According to WTATennis.com, Boulter has a 29-16 record (.644), her best winning percentage on any surface – by far. Raducanu is 11-7 (.661), significantly better than clay or hard court.
The WTATennis.com article also mentions Lois Boisson, the French wild card who reached the semifinals at Roland Garros in her first Grand Slam draw. Despite having never played on grass, Boisson’s ranking, which is now well inside the Top 100, will allow her to play as many grass events as she chooses.
Amelie Mauresmo, the French Open tournament director and 2006 Wimbledon champion, was quoted in the WTATennis.com article, saying: “Of course it’s possible [for Boisson to succeed on grass]. Historically for players it’s a surface that requires a little bit of experience. But grass has also changed in recent years. There are many years it’s been slowing down. There are specificities with regard to the height of the bounce. You can see there can be rallies on grass. So I think that this will possibly help her.”
The all-time greats on grass, according to WTATennis.com, include:
* Martina Navratilova 314-42 (.882)
* Serena Williams 107-16 (.870)
* Chris Evert 211-32 (.868)
* Steffi Graf 84-14 (.857)
* Billie Jean King 206-35 (.855)
The grass season picks up speed this week as the Hologic WTA Tour touches down at Queen’s Club for the first time since 1973. The inaugural HSBC Championships brings a WTA 500 to one of London’s most storied venues, with 10 of the Top 20 players in the field.
As Keys said, as reported by WTATennis.com: “I think [grass] obviously is a surface that rewards people who have bigger serves and hit harder. I think from the start I always just – it just kind of naturally I was getting free points, and I felt good on it.”
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