Pliskova advances to Queen’s quarterfinals as Mboko retires after hard fall
Karolina Pliskova advanced to the Queen's Club quarterfinals on Wednesday after Victoria Mboko retired with a left knee injury following a hard fall late in the second set.
Queen's: Scores | Order of play | Draws
Pliskova led 6-2, 3-4, with Mboko holding a break point that would have given her a chance to serve for the set. But as the 19-year-old chased down a Pliskova forehand, she slipped on the grass and immediately grabbed her left knee. She was unable to continue and retired before another point was played.
"I think we played quite a good game today," Pliskova said in her on-court interview. "She was improving as the match was going, so it would have been a nice match, but I wish her only the best. Of course, this is not the way we want to win, so hopefully she's going to be fine for Wimbledon."
Pliskova, who went over to check on Mboko and brought her a towel after the fall, now has two Top 10 wins this year -- both coming via opponent retirement. She also led Amanda Anisimova in the third set in Doha earlier this year when Anisimova was forced to stop.
This is the first retirement of Mboko's career at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level and just the third of her professional career, with her previous two coming at ITF events in 2024. On Tuesday, she paired with Serena Williams to win their opening-round doubles match against No. 3 seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe, and they are currently scheduled to play again Thursday.
Get better soon Vicky 💚@KaPliskova advances to the quarterfinals after Mboko retires due to injury.#HSBCChampionships pic.twitter.com/HhsZWBPLgH
— wta (@WTA) June 10, 2026
For Pliskova, the win -- even if not in the manner she hoped -- was another encouraging step in her return. She won 83% of her first-serve points in the opening set and backed it up with a 71% mark in the second. She finished the match with 18 winners to 16 unforced errors.
In addition to her two Top 10 wins, the former World No. 1 is now through to her third quarterfinal of the season, following runs to the last eight in Linz and Madrid. After entering the Australian Open ranked No. 1,057, she appears set to return to the Top 100 next week.
She'll now have a chance to make further noise in London, facing the winner of Marie Bouzkova and Donna Vekic next for a spot in her first semifinal since reaching the Nottingham final in 2024.