Rain is again disrupting the WTA Queen’s Club action in London, with Emma Raducanu, Harriet Dart and Katie Boulter all still chasing a place in the quarter-finals on grass.
Rain kept cutting into the day at the Queen’s Club in London, and with proceedings repeatedly interrupted, the pressure didn’t ease—it just shifted. Three British women remained in the singles draw, each with a clear target: reach the quarter-finals on grass.
Emma Raducanu was first up on Andy Murray Arena at 11:30am, taking on Sorana Cirstea in a match that had been tied 1-1 in their head-to-head meeting history. The prize on offer at WTA Queen’s Club was $28,245, with Raducanu hoping grass will do what her recent struggles could not.
Cirstea enters with the momentum of a final-season run that has lifted her into the Top 20 for the first time. along with titles as she bids farewell to the tour. She beat Raducanu convincingly in the Cluj-Napoca final, but grass has been kinder to Raducanu in the past. Raducanu’s route to this point has been complicated by illness: she claimed her first match win in three months after battling a virus. Now. she faces a tough ask—one that may still come down to how long she can take Cirstea before the match tips away. The match-up is expected to be close, with a prediction of Cirstea in three sets.
On Court 1 at 11:30am, Harriet Dart [WC] stepped into her own quarter-final bid against Kamilla Rakhimova [LL]. Dart’s head-to-head lead stands at 1-0. Dart’s opening round had required real resilience; she had to battle back after coming from a set behind against Liudmila Samsonova while also dealing with the elements and even losing out in a couple of moments on slick grass. She also marked a milestone by earning her first win on the main tour since the 2025 Australian Open.
Rakhimova arrived in this draw as a lucky loser, replacing Belinda Bencic. She had been bounced out of qualifying by defending champion Tatjana Maria. yet she still got through due to the second-round bye she received earlier. So far in 2026. her successes have come on the ITF circuit. but on the WTA main draw she hasn’t moved past the second round of any tournament this year. Dart has the British support behind her and the higher expectation of progress—though it’s not guaranteed. The prediction here is also a three-setter, with Dart in three sets.
The third British focus came later at the third on Andy Murray Arena. not before 3pm: Katie Boulter [WC] against Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian. Their head-to-head has Boulter leading 2-1, including their results in the ITF. The day’s rain drama worked in Boulter’s favour earlier, helping turn a disruption into momentum. She returned to a match that had been rain-interrupted the second day and looked revitalised. coming back from a set down to earn a spot in the second round.
Cristian arrives with her own recent lift. having got the better of former Slam finalist Zheng Qinwen and carrying a “reasonable 2026 so far.” But Boulter’s grass record gives her an edge: she has the measure of Cristian so far. sitting just ahead including most recently in Rouen. There is also a form gap on this surface that matters when matches tighten—Boulter has won more consistently on grass. while Cristian has claimed just one main draw match win previously.
The home crowd factor is expected to matter too, with the prospect of another grass quarter-final in front of British fans acting as a clear motivator. The forecast is for Boulter to get through in three sets.
Across all three matches, the same theme hangs over the grass court at the Queen’s Club: rain is still finding a way to disrupt, and each British player is trying to make sure it doesn’t steal their rhythm—especially not at the moment they’re pushing for quarter-finals.
WTA Queen's Club 2026 Emma Raducanu Harriet Dart Katie Boulter Sorana Cirstea Kamilla Rakhimova Jaqueline Cristian rain delay London grass tennis quarter-finals
So like… rain decides tennis now? If they can’t play because of weather then just hand out quarterfinal spots or what.
I feel bad for Raducanu but also grass should’ve helped her already. It says she had a virus though, so maybe this is just gonna be another storyline where she’s “almost there” then gets stopped. Why is it always something with England weather lol.
Wait, didn’t Andy Murray Arena mean Murray was playing? Like I thought he was still out there. Also if Cirstea is leaving the tour then wouldn’t she want to go out with an easy win on grass? Predictions say three sets but that feels like pure guessin.
The rain keeps interrupting and everyone’s still chasing quarter-finals like it’s no big deal. $28,245 isn’t even that much for this level, so I can see why the pressure is intense. Dart “dealing with the elements” is funny to me because it’s literally elements, not like she chose it. Also slick grass?? Tennis players act like it’s a life-or-death mission but then the weather changes everything.