The Queen's Club Championships 2026 will open its women's draw on Monday 8 June, with the final set for Sunday 14 June, before the men's event begins the next day and runs to Sunday 21 June. For Tatjana Maria, 37, it is a return to the grass at West Kensington as the defending champion after last year's shock title run.
The timing matters because Queen's Club is the true start of the grass-court season and one of the clearest markers that Wimbledon is drawing near. The tournament, an ATP/WTA 500 event, will be shown live on from Monday 8 June until Sunday 21 June, with every session also streamed on iPlayer, the Sport website and Red Button.
Maria's defence gives the women's side its most immediate storyline, but the men's draw has already been reshaped by absence. Carlos Alcaraz will not play because of injury, guaranteeing a new winner in the men's singles and removing the player many expected to set the pace for the fortnight.
That change leaves more room for the players who did make the trip to West Kensington, including Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool, who enjoyed success in the doubles in 2025. The event only returned to a women's format last year, after more than half a century without one, and the 2026 edition now arrives with a fuller schedule and a sharper sense of what this tournament has become.
What begins on 8 June is not just another summer stop on the calendar. It is the first test on grass, the first chance to defend a title won against expectation, and the first clue to how the season may look before Wimbledon opens.
