Established in 1886, the Queen’s Club exudes elegance and history, owning its heritage of being the world’s first multipurpose sports complex. Members can play Lawn Tennis, Real Tennis and Squash on some of the finest and most prestigious courts worldwide. Located in West Kensington, the serenity and tranquillity of the setting and the club itself is incomparable, which is no surprise given its royal connections. Excellent dining and entertaining facilities encapsulate the history of the venue and make the experience extra special.
The Queen’s Club hosts the annual cinch Championships, the world-famous men’s grass court lawn tennis tournament. The tournament has seen some of the most talented and successful tennis legends from around the world grace the courts over the years; it continues to welcome rising stars and the next generation of legends year after year.
In this piece, we’re looking at some of the greatest players (also known as global tennis royalty) who have claimed the Queen’s Club title and comparing their performance at The Championships, Wimbledon in the same year. With Wimbledon just a week later in the tennis calendar, are their victories is good preparation for one of the greatest grass-court tournaments in the world?
Rod Laver
1962 – The Queen’s Club title and Wimbledon title
1970 – The Queen’s Club title
After his victory in 1962, Laver went on to Wimbledon where he only lost one set in the whole tournament, allowing him to progress to beat Mulligan in the final - a match that lasted a short 52 minutes.
John McEnroe
1979 – The Queen’s Club title and Wimbledon doubles title
1980 – The Queen’s Club title and Wimbledon finalist
1981 – The Queen’s Club title and Wimbledon title
1984 – The Queen’s Club title and Wimbledon title
In 1979, McEnroe won The Queen’s Club title and the Wimbledon doubles title with partner Peter Fleming. 1980 saw the player reach his first Wimbledon singles final, and in 1981, he extended his victory from The Queen’s Club tournament through to Wimbledon where he beat rival Bjorn Borg in the final. Finally, in 1984, McEnroe won the Queen’s title once again, and claimed victory on the prestigious courts of Wimbledon, showing that his performance at The Queen’s Club was carried through to Wimbledon.
Boris Becker
1985 - The Queen’s Club title and Wimbledon title
1987 - The Queen’s Club title
1988 - The Queen’s Club title
1996 - The Queen’s Club title
The German first won his Queen’s Club title in 1985. After winning at Queen’s in 1985, Becker became the first unseeded player and the first German to win the Wimbledon singles title, and the youngest ever male Grand Slam singles champion at the young age of 17. Becker also won the Wimbledon title in 1986 and again in 1989.
Ivan Lendl
1989 - The Queen’s Club title and Wimbledon semi-finalist
1990 - The Queen’s Club title and Wimbledon semi-finalist
In each year from 1985 to 1987, Lendl’s match-winning percentage totalled over 90%. Unfortunately, despite winning many Grand Slam titles, Ivan Lendl was never able to claim the Wimbledon title. After winning at The Queen’s Club, Ivan made it to the semi-finals at Wimbledon, however, was denied a place in the final by Boris Becker. 1990 saw Lendl put more momentum into his training to improve his grass court performance, and once again won the Queen’s title. Despite this success, his Wimbledon journey ended in the semi-finals for the seventh time in eight years.
Andy Roddick
2003 – The Queen’s Club title and Wimbledon semi-finalist
2004 – The Queen’s Club title and Wimbledon finalist
2005 – The Queen’s Club title and Wimbledon finalist
2007 – The Queen’s Club title and Wimbledon quarter-finalist
Roddick became No.1 at the age of 21 and became the first American to end the year at that ranking. Roddick’s first Wimbledon final saw him go head-to-head with Roger Federer. Roddick successfully stole the first set from the Swiss, but was denied the title to the reigning champion who came out on top.
Andy Murray
2009 – The Queen’s Club title and Wimbledon semi-finalist
2011 – The Queen’s Club title and Wimbledon semi-finalist
2013 – The Queen’s Club title and Wimbledon singles title
2015 – The Queen’s Club title and Wimbledon semi-finalist
2016 – The Queen’s Club title and Wimbledon title (and Olympic Gold medallist)
2009 saw Murray claim his first grass-court victory, becoming the first British winner at Queen’s since 1938. After a stint of victories across the globe, Murray went on to compete in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, where he became the first tennis player to win two consecutive gold medals in the singles tennis events.
Rafael Nadal
2008 – The Queen’s Club title and Wimbledon title
In 2008, Rafael Nadal claimed his first grass-court victory at the Queen’s club. Progressing to Wimbledon, Nadal came head-to-head with rival Roger Federer in a highly anticipated match. After 4 hours and 48 minutes of intense play, Nadal rose to defeat the Swiss.
With the likes of Emma Raducanu, Denis Shapovalov, Leylah Fernandez and Coco Gauff (to name a few) serving up excellence on the courts, we’re hoping to see more great rising tennis stars take to the courts at The Queen’s Club and Wimbledon in 2022 to battle it out to claim the title.
Don’t miss the future tennis legends take to the court at the cinch Championships at The Queen’s Club in 2022 and discover our unique hospitality packages for this historic tournament.