Tennis

Vekic wins Queen's Club final in straight sets to deny dream title for Raducanu

Published: 

Donna Vekic of Croatia poses with the trophy after winning the women's final of the Queen's Club tennis championships against Emma Raducanu of Britain, in London, Sunday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Maja Smiejkowska) (Maja Smiejkowska)

LONDON (AP) — Emma Raducanu fell short of a dream title on home soil at the Queen’s Club after Croatian lucky loser Donna Vekic won the final 6-0, 7-6 (6) in London on Sunday.

The 23-year-old Raducanu was looking for her first singles trophy since her stunning win as a qualifier at the 2021 U.S. Open.

The British No. 1 was swiftly beaten in the first set but saved three championship points in the second on the way to a tiebreaker, where she saved another and came close to taking it to a deciding set.

Rain earlier in the tournament resulted in Raducanu having to power through a two-match day on Saturday, beating Kamilla Rakhimova then American Iva Jovic to reach the first grass-court and third tour-level final of her career.

Raducanu finished runner-up to Sorana Cirstea in Cluj-Napoca, her second final, in February.

___

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

The Associated Press