The 2024 ATP Queen’s Club Championships promises another entertaining week of tennis (weather allowing) in the lead-up to Wimbledon. The tournament, played in picturesque surroundings in West Kensington, provides the perfect warm-up tournament for players looking to get much-needed court time on grass.
Last year, Carlos Alcaraz won the tournament and went on to win a maiden Wimbledon, adding his name to an illustrious roll of honour that also includes John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker, Pete Sampras, Lleyton Hewitt, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray. But who are the leading contenders to get their hands on the famous trophy in 2024.
ATP Queen’s Club Championships
Carlos Alcaraz is obviously at the top of the list. He rose to world #2 after winning the 2024 Roland Garros. He will be the top seed at Queen’s. Tournament organizers are obviously concerned that he might not play, but there is a general feeling of optimism that Alcaraz will play, having promised to return.
Alex De Minaur, the second seed and the world #9, could significantly elevate his ATP ranking on the surface. He is slowly and steadily getting accustomed to playing on grass. He was the finalist last year, losing to Alcaraz. At the time of writing, the Australian stormed into the Libema Open semifinal. So, he’s got momentum with him before traveling to the UK.
Grigor Dimitrov is a former champion at Queen’s, but that was ten years ago. The 33-year-old Bulgarian is the most experienced man on grass competing at the 2024 Queen’s Club Championships, with a Wimbledon semifinal on his resume and victories over the likes of Andy Murray, Kevin Anderson, and Daniil Medvedev on the surface.
Taylor Fritz is penciled in to play the event, but he’s a major doubt. The American sustained a serious back injury at Roland Garros in his match against Casper Ruud. He withdrew from Stuttgart this past week and is currently undergoing treatment in the United States.
A couple of Americans could replace Fritz as the U.S. number one ATP player in his absence. One of those is Tommy Paul, who will be the fifth seed but could be bumped to fourth if his compatriot misses out on competing at Queen’s. Paul is rapidly improving on grass, having reached the second week at Wimbledon in 2022, and was a finalist in Eastbourne last year.
He also comes into the tournament in solid form after reaching the quarterfinals in Stuttgart last week. The other seeded American is Ben Shelton, who has a less productive week in Baden-Württemberg, losing in his opening match in Stuttgart this past week.
Another rising star to watch out for is Holger Rune. He was a semifinalist at Queen’s last year and went on to headline the Wimbledon quarterfinals. The Dane will return to London while outside the world’s top 10.
He may be unseeded and ranked outside the world’s top 100, but Milos Raonic will be a formidable opponenent at Queen’s this year. The big-serving Canadian was a Wimbledon finalist in 2016 and has also beaten the great Roger Federer in SW19.
2024 ATP Queen’s Cinch Championships Entry List (excluding wild cards and qualifiers)
- Carlos Alcaraz
- Grigor Dimitrov
- Alex de Minaur
- Taylor Fritz
- Holger Rune
- Tommy Paul
- Ben Shelton
- Ugo Humbert
- Karen Khachanov
- Sebastian Baez
- Adrian Mannarino
- Francisco Cerundolo
- Jiri Lehecka
- Alejandro Tabilo
- Frances Tiafoe
- Sebastian Korda
- Tomas Martin Etcheverry
- Lorenzo Musetti
- Mariano Navone
- Cameron Norrie
- Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
- Jack Draper
- Milos Raonic
Main photo credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
