The Grass-Court Swing kicked off this past week, with a pair of tournaments in London and 's-Hertogenbosch.
There were surprising champions at both events, as well as the return of one of the true icons of the sport.
Here's everything that went down on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz last week.
Star of the Week
Donna Vekic
On Sunday, June 7, Donna Vekic went down quietly in her second qualifying round, in straight sets, to Anna Blinkova on Court 5 at Queen's Club.
A week later, she was basking in the glow of her first career WTA 500 title.
The 29-year-old lucky loser won her fifth career WTA singles title at Queen's Club, and the biggest of her career, after beating home favorite Emma Raducanu 6-0, 7-6 (6) in the final. She became just the seventh lucky loser to win a WTA title, and the first at the WTA 500 title or higher. Vekic dropped just one set in the main draw, and beat three British players in straight sets, no easy feat in front of the home fans at Queen's Club.
She also snapped a two-year title drought. The following day, Vekic jumped up 44 spots in the PIF WTA Rankings, to No. 33.
Breakthrough of the Week
Robin Montgomery
Like Vekic, Robin Montgomery didn't enter the Libéma Open as a contender. She opened the tournament at No. 484 in the world, and had to qualify. She won a pair of matches over seeded players to qualify for the main draw -- she wasn't even seeded in the qualifying tournament -- and what followed was the best week of her career.
In just her third tour-level main draw of 2026, the 21-year-old American won four straight matches to reach her first career WTA Tour final, and then won the trophy when Barbora Krejcikova was forced to withdraw because of an illness. Her serve was overpowering, with 55 aces in her six matches.
Montgomery became the lowest-ranked player to win a title since Elina Svitolina (No. 508) in 2023, and the third-lowest-ranked player ever to win a WTA title (not including Kim Clijsters and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who won titles when they were unranked).
On Monday, Montgomery moved up 290 spots in the rankings, to No. 194.
Most Exciting Moment of the Week
The GOAT returns
If the end of the week belonged to Vekic and Montgomery, the beginning of it belonged to Serena Williams, who made her highly-anticipated return to the WTA Tour after nearly four years away.
She dominated the talk on the grounds at Queen's Club, with fans coming from far and wide to see her take the court again. Ushers answered a steady flow of questions about where she was practicing and playing, and players who grew up idolizing her -- Alexandra Eala included -- were in awe of the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion's presence.
Teaming with Victoria Mboko, Williams understandably showed some rust at first, but found her rhythm as the match wore on and had some vintage Serena moments, including this backhand winner on the run.
And she ended the match fittingly. Back-to-back aces brought up match point, and she sealed the 7-6 (2), 6-2 victory over Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez with a 113 mph serve down the T that went untouched.
Unfortunately they had to withdraw from their quarterfinal match after Mboko suffered a left knee injury in her singles match against Karolina Pliskova.
On-Court Interview of the Week
Serena Williams and Victoria Mboko
Williams and Mboko looked terrific on court, but more importantly -- at least for Williams -- they were having fun. They shared laughs and smiled throughout the match, and maintained those positive vibes in their on-court interview.
"It was so fun," Williams said. "I had so much fun playing with Vickie. She really was able to hold up the team and really play big on the big points, and I could really rely on her. We've never played together, but it just felt so natural playing with her. It was actually really fun."
When the interviewer turned her attention to Mboko, it was evident that the World No. 9 was experiencing a surreal and meaningful moment.
"Well first of all, I feel very honored to play with you, Serena," Mboko said. "It's such a privilege to play beside you."
Match of the Week
Kamilla Rakhimova d. Harriet Dart, HSBC Championships Round of 16
In a match that lasted just under three hours, lucky loser Kamilla Rakhimova came from behind to edge Britain's Harriet Dart 5-7, 6-1, 7-5.
Point of the Week
Emma Raducanu's backhand winner
Though she fell short of her second career title, it was an encouraging week for Raducanu, with surprising upsets of Sorana Cirstea and Iva Jovic.
She was in form all week, and there was no better evidence of that than this point. Serving at 5-4, 15-all in the second set, the former US Open champion showed off elite court coverage and superb shot-making, finishing it off with a running one-handed backhand winner.
Upset of the Week
Katie Boulter d. Elena Rybakina, HSBC Championships quarterfinals
Home favorite Katie Boulter picked up the second Top 5 win of her career, knocking off top-seeded Elena Rybakina 7-5, 2-6, 7-5.
Making it all the more impressive was the fact that it was Boulter's second match, and second win, of the day. Due to rainouts the day prior, Boulter had to first beat Jaqueline Cristian, which she did 6-1, 6-3.
Comeback of the Week
Anastasia Potapova d. Suzan Lamens, Libéma Open Round of 32
Anastasia Potapova dropped the first set in a tight tiebreaker after letting two set points slip away, then took the second to level the match. In the decider, Potapova trailed Suzan Lamens 4-1 and looked all but finished before rallying to take the final five games for the 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4 win.
Quote of the Week
"I had nothing better to do. I got tired of sitting at home. My kids are out of school for the summer, so why not?” - Serena Williams on her decision to return to the WTA Tour
