The biggest grass-court week on the pre-Wimbledon schedule is upon us, as Halle and Queen’s Club take center stage. As usual, both fields are stacked — even though Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are not competing this year. Alexander Zverev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Ben Shelton, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Flavio Cobolli, Alexander Bublik, Nick Kyrgios, Joao Fonseca, Alex de Minaur, Jakub Mensik, and Rafael Jodar are among those in action.
Let’s take a look at their pair of ATP 500 tournaments.
Terra Wortmann Open
Where: Halle, Germany
Surface: Grass
Prize money: 2,583,330 Euros
Points: 500
Top seed: Alexander Zverev
Defending champion: Alexander Bublik
Draw analysis: Zverev is coming off his first Grand Slam title at the French Open. From a mental standpoint, it may not be easy for the 29-year-old German to get right back in gear. A change in surface and difficult competition won’t make things any easier for Zverev. Heck, he will almost certainly have to defeat higher-ranked players to lift the Halle trophy than he did at Roland Garros. The world No. 3 could face Fonseca in round two, Bublik in the quarterfinals, and either Shelton or Fritz in the semis. Shelton, who captured the Stuttgart title on Sunday, will kick off his Halle campaign against Kyrgios.
A rematch of the French Open final is possible this coming Sunday, because Cobolli is opposite Zverev in the draw. However, the 10th-ranked Italian may have a difficult time even getting out of the opening round. Up first for Cobolli is Tiafoe, who leads their head-to-head series 3-1 after most recently dominating 6-1, 6-2 this spring in Indian Wells. Whoever advances could eventually meet Auger-Aliassime in the last eight and either Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, or Hubert Hurkacz in the semis. Rublev vs. Hurkacz is a rough first-round matchup.
Hot: Alexander Zverev, Flavio Cobolli, Learner Tien, Joao Fonseca, Sho Shimabukuro, Vit Kopriva
Cold: Daniil Medvedev, Karen Khachanov, Hubert Hurkacz, Alexei Popyrin
Quarterfinal predictions: Alexander Zverev over Alexander Bublik, Taylor Fritz over Karen Khachanov, Hubert Hurkacz over Daniil Medvedev, and Frances Tiafoe over Learner Tien
Semifinals: Fritz over Zverev and Hurkacz over Tiafoe
Final: Fritz over Hurkacz
HSBC Championships
Where: London, England
Surface: Grass
Prize money: 2,583,330 Euros
Points: 500
Top seed: Alex de Minaur
2025 champion: Carlos Alcaraz (not playing)
Draw analysis: For the first time since 2022, the Queen’s Club participants won’t have to deal with Alcaraz in the field. Alcaraz is 11-1 lifetime at this tournament with two titles, but he is unable to play this summer due to a wrist injury. That leaves De Minaur as the top seed, looking to bounce back from his third-set tiebreaker loss to Kamil Majchrzak in Sunday’s ‘s-Hertogenbosch final. De Minaur, who finished runner-up to Alcaraz in 2023 and also reached the semis in 2021, has a favorable draw this week. Jodar is a possible quarterfinal opponent, but the 19-year-old Spaniard is unproven on grass. The top half of the bracket is also home to Mensik, Francisco Cerundolo, and Adrian Mannarino.
Majchrzak earned a special exemption into Queen’s Club thanks to his run in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, but the draw did not do him any favors. The 30-year-old Pole will be making a quick turnaround to face No. 2 seed Jiri Lehecka right off the bat. Lehecka recently advanced to the Stuttgart semifinals before losing to Shelton 6-7(4), 7-6(14), 7-6(6) after holding two match points. A deep bottom half of the bracket also includes Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Tommy Paul, Marin Cilic, Ugo Humbert, Cameron Norrie, and Corentin Moutet.
Hot: Jiri Lehecka, Jakub Mensik, Rafael Jodar, Ignacio Buse, Alejandro Tabilo, Kamil Majchrzak
Cold: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Ugo Humbert, Gabriel Diallo, Denis Shapovalov, Jenson Brooksby
Quarterfinal predictions: Alex de Minaur over Brandon Nakashima, Jakub Mensik over Francisco Cerundolo, Tommy Paul over Cameron Norrie, and Jiri Lehecka over Ugo Humbert
Semifinals: De Minaur over Mensik and Lehecka over Paul
Final: De Minaur over Lehecka