Francisco Cerundolo is your 2026 Queen's Club champion, and he did it the hard way. The No 8 seed beat American Tommy Paul 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-3 on Sunday 21 June in the longest final in the championship's history - three hours and three minutes of grass-court attrition at the HSBC Championships, according to Sky Sports. Paul, the 2024 champion who arrived at Queen's on a nine-match winning streak in the tournament, came agonisingly close: he took the first-set tie-break 7-4 and fought off three match points in the third set before Cerundolo finally closed it out at 6-3.
With Wimbledon beginning Monday 30 June, that result matters well beyond the trophy cabinet.
Why this final is worth paying attention to#
Queen's has historically been one of the most reliable Wimbledon form guides on tour. Grass is an outlier surface - low bounce, quick skid, premium on slice and net presence - and the players who figure it out at the HSBC Championships tend to carry genuine confidence into SW19. Cerundolo's win is a statement. He came through a brutal draw, went three sets in a record-length final, and held his nerve on match points twice squandered. That is exactly the mentality grass rewards.
For Paul, losing from a position of strength stings, but his run still confirms he is one of the more comfortable hardcourt-to-grass converters on the ATP right now. Both players arrive at Wimbledon with momentum - just different kinds of it.
What it means if you are buying or selling a racket this week#
Cerundolo plays with a Head racket. Paul is a Wilson player. Every time either of them goes deep at a Slam, search interest and resale demand for those brands ticks up noticeably - not dramatically, but enough that a second-hand Head or Wilson listed around Wimbledon fortnight tends to move faster than one listed in November.
If you have a Head Gravity or Speed series frame sitting in your garage, now is as good a time as any to list it on EpicRackets. Buyers who watch the grass season and fancy playing a bit more like their favourite pro are actively browsing right now. The same logic applies to Wilson Blade and Pro Staff models associated with Paul.
It works the other way too. If you are in the market for a grass-season upgrade, the window between Queen's and the Wimbledon second week is when pre-owned stock is freshest. Players doing a pre-Wimbledon gear refresh list their old frames precisely now.
Grass season is the best time to try something new#
Grass suits a flatter, more aggressive hitting style than clay. If you have been playing with a heavier, more dampened frame optimised for slow-court topspin battles, this is the moment to experiment with something lighter and more manoeuvrable - the kind of thing that shows up in the pre-owned tennis section at a fraction of retail price.
| Frame type | Why it works on grass | What to look for pre-owned |
|---|---|---|
| Lighter, open-string-pattern | More pace through the ball, flatter trajectory | Wilson Blade 98 (16x19), Head Speed MP |
| Higher stiffness rating | Energy transfer on low-bounce balls | Babolat Pure Strike, Head Radical MP |
| Slightly head-light balance | Net approaches and volleys feel more natural | Most players' frames strung at 54-58 lbs |
Cerundolo winning Queen's in the most gruelling final the tournament has ever produced is a reminder that grass-court tennis rewards preparation, adaptability, and the right gear for the surface. Whether you are shopping or selling heading into Wimbledon week, the timing is about as good as it gets. Browse what is available now at EpicRackets before the Wimbledon rush properly kicks in.
