By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, June 14, 2026
Photo credit: Adam Davy/PA Sport/Getty
Illness and fatigue nearly struck down Donna Vekic last week.
Today, Vekic produced a powerful panacea at Queen’s Club.
Lucky loser Vekic converted her fifth championship point defeating home hero Emma Raducanu 6-0, 7-6(6) to win her fifth career championship on the historic lawns of Queen’s Club.
It is Vekic’s first Tour-level title in three years and came after fifth-seeded Marta Kostyuk withdrew last week.
Vekic, who was feeling so ill last Monday she didn’t think she could compete, gained main-draw entry on Tuesday. Five days later she made history as the first lucky loser to win Queen’s Club.
“I’m really grateful that I got another opportunity to play, because I was really excited for the first tournament on grass,” Vekic said. “Loved being back in London, but then I got sick that weekend, and I was really, really upset because then having to play two matches on Sunday as well, it was too much.
“I knew I was the first Lucky Loser, but on Monday, I was feeling so bad, I was like, Please, I don’t want anyone to pull out today. Then Tuesday I woke up and was feeling better and I was like I feel it’s coming today.”
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Contesting her first final since the 2024 Olympic gold-medal match in Paris when she fell to Zheng Qinwen, Vekic beat three British players, including scoring back-to-back wins over Katie Boulter and Raducanu to take the title.
When Raducanu’s final shot sailed long, Vekic dropped to her knees with joy then rose, putting her hand over her heart.
A victorious Vekic signed the court-side camera lens “Crazy Queen” with a heart symbolizing this wild ride to her fifth championship.
At the outset, the 29-year-old Croatian overpowered Raducanu rolling through seven straight games for a 6-0, 1-0 lead.
Playing for her first title since she won the 2021 US Open becoming the first qualifier—male or female—to win a Grand Slam singles title, Raducanu reset.
Mixing the depth and angle of her drives, Raducanu raced through five of the next six games snatching a 5-2 second-set lead. Though Raducanu served for the set at 5-4 and had two set points, she could not close. Raducanu scattered a drop shot as Vekic broke back to level at 5-all.
Serving at 5-6, Raducanu roped a forehand to save championship point, dodged a second championship point when Vekic netted a return then saved a third championship point cracking an 82 mile-an-hour forehand winner.
Raducanu rapped deep backhands holding to force the tiebreaker.
Level at 5-all in the breaker, Vekic hit a forcing forehand drawing a wide lob for a fourth championship point. Raducanu hit a dangerous return down the line but slipped giving Vekic an open look at a wide expanse of court, but the Croatian netted her reply and it was 6-all.
Queen’s Club fans were roaring exhorting hometown favorite Raducanu, but Vekic muted fans sliding a winner right off the sideline that left Raducanu staring at the spot as if haunted by that strike.
On her fifth championship point, Vekic finally closed as a crackling 15-shot exchanged ended with Raducanu sailing a diagonal forehand long.