Queen’s hosts women’s tennis for first time in 52 years – with equal prize money on the horizon

For a venue steeped in pomp and splendour – an old-school members' spot constantly eyeing ways to refresh – there is something new coming this week at Queen’s Club. For the first time in 52 years, the women take centre stage on the pristine grass courts in the high-flying west London neighbourhood.

The last time a women’s event was played at Queen’s, under the title of the 1973 London Grass Court Championships, Russian player Olga Morozova won the singles title. And a matter of months before she won the famous Battle of the Sexes contest against Bobby Riggs in Houston, which catapulted women’s tennis into the mainstream, Billie Jean King won the doubles at Queen’s alongside fellow American Rosie Casals.

Times have clearly changed, but the sprinkling of top-tier stardust has not. For tournament director Laura Robson, the former world No 27 and Wimbledon junior champion, attracting the biggest names in the game was a process which started last year. Australian Open champion and close friend Madison Keys has clearly spread the word, with 10 of the world’s top-20 signing up to play.

It’s an impressive feat which should not be taken for granted, given the tournament starts a day after the second Grand Slam of the year concluded at Roland Garros. Among the star names featuring are home favourites Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu, with the latter requiring a wild card such is the strength of the draw.

“It’s going to be really great for all the players involved,” says Robson. “You’ve got a brand new tournament, at WTA 500 level, and it’s on the most perfect grass courts. That’s how I’ve sold it to the players.

“It’s a men’s club so the logistics have been hard, they’re used to having their own space when the tournament is on. We’ve taken over the women’s dressing room for the first time, which was harder to get over the line than you might think.

“But it’s been easy so far. The general consensus is that everyone is excited to have this new event.”

For the LTA’s vision of a London festival of tennis ahead of Wimbledon, there have been consequences for the grass court season across the UK. The previous premier WTA event, at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham, has been downgraded to an ITF/Challenger event below tour-level. The knock-on impact is that the popular Surbiton Trophy in Surrey has been discontinued altogether.

The move has been made to increase eyeballs on women’s tennis, amid the cosy surroundings of Barons Court in the capital. In line with the men’s event, matches will be aired on the BBC this week and more than 80% of tickets have been sold. Moreover, on Thursday, the LTA made a significant pledge: equal prize money between the two events by 2029.

“That’s always my hope across the tour,” says Robson. While all four Grand Slams have identical pay-checks for men and women, the ATP and WTA do not have a similar agreement for joint-tournaments.

This week, the total women’s prize pot is £1.042m, a figure voluntarily increased by the LTA and a tour-high for a WTA 500 event. Yet it still falls far short of the £2.124m purse that the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jack Draper will compete for next week.

“The WTA are looking at investment coming in to try and have equal prize money,” Robson adds, prior to the 2029 announcement. “It’s an issue all year round, not just for Queen’s.”

It feels significant, too, that on day one of this new event, the club’s 10,000-capacity stadium court will be renamed to honour a five-time Queen’s singles champion and one of women’s tennis’ biggest backers in modern times. For what used to simply read ‘Centre Court’ now reads the ‘Andy Murray Arena’.

The two-time Wimbledon champion, who retired last year, will be present on Monday for a short ceremony.

All the attributes are present at Queen’s, often voted by the men as their favourite tournament of the year, for a terrific fortnightly spectacle. A big-ticket company, in HSBC, are sponsoring the event. Advanced grass court preservation methods have alleviated concerns over the condition of the courts by the second week. And further down the line, Robson is keen to take the ‘WTA best tournament’ tag, currently held by the green clay courts of Charleston in the United States. A step at a time, though.

However, one element Robson cannot control is the weather. a fact she knows all too well from her previous two years as tournament director at the Nottingham Open. Fortunately, though overcast, the weather largely looks free of rain for the week ahead.

“I felt I had two years of weather which was utter trash!” Robson says of her time in charge at Nottingham. “Fingers crossed we have sunshine because we don’t actually have any backup. In Notts, I had to move matches and finals indoors. So long as it’s not that stressful!”