June Match Report , ,

Tearful Mboko Retires from Queen’s Club Singles with Injury

By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Photo credit: Hong Kong Open Facebook

A scary crash to the grass knocked Victoria Mboko out of Queen’s Club today.

The 19-year-old Canadian star retired with an apparent knee injury after tumbling to the court while trailing Karolina Pliskova, 2-6, 4-3 at the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club

Returning serve against Pliskova in the second set today, Mboko was moving right when the former No. 1 hit a drive behind her. Trying to change direction, Mboko slipped into a split on the Queen’s Club grass, flung her Wilson racquet behind her and immediately clutched at her left knee in pain.

The physio helped a tearful Mboko to her courtside seat where she sat for a few moments appearing to press tears from her eyes with her towel. Mboko retired saying “I’m sorry” to Pliskova before slowly pacing toward the locker room. 

“First of all, such a shame,” Pliskova said. “We played quite a good game. I think she was improving as the match was going.

“I wish her only the best of course this is not the way I want to win. Hopefully she’s gonna be fine for Wimbledon.”

The 2021 Wimbledon finalist Pliskova will face either Czech compatriot Marie Bouzkova or lucky loser and former Wimbledon semifinalist Donna Vekic for a semifinal spot at Queen’s Club.

The apparent knee injury comes a day after Mboko partnered 44-year-old icon Serena Williams in a successful doubles comeback win on the same Andy Murray Arena court.

Williams and 19-year-old partner Mboko defeated third seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe 7-6(2), 6-2 in their Queen’s Club opening match yesterday. Mboko and Williams are scheduled to play their second doubles match tomorrow against Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund, however it appears highly unlikely the Canadian teenager will play given her injury.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams is on the entry list for next week’s Berlin Tennis Open where she’s reportedly planning on playing doubles alongside either Coco Gauff or Karolina Muchova though she’s not announced a definitive partner yet.

Three years, nine months and six days after her loss to Ajla Tomljanovic in her last pro match at the 2022 US Open, Serena returned before a completely packed Andy Murray Arena and, perhaps surprisingly, looked a lot like the Serena Williams we all recall.

“There were so many times in the match where we were kind of like: This could be so much better, we could be doing some more,” Mboko said. “It was a little funny, it added a little humor to it, it kind of made me more relaxed. 

“At the end of the day, we just went for it. Both of our game styles, I feel, complement each really well and that really helped us get through today.”

That bright start came to an abrupt and painful end today in what was Mboko’s second main-draw grass-court event after the 2025 Wimbledon.

Here’s hoping Mboko can recover from the knee injury to play Wimbledon, which is set for June 29-July 12th.

Earlier, the 2025 Wimbledon finalist Amanda Anisimova charged through seven games in a row dismissing German spin artist Laura Siegemund 6-1, 6-3.

The second-seeded Anisimova broke serve four times in a 65-minute victory.

“I thought it was a great match for me, and I feel like I really started well, also, which is important, being the first match on the grass,” Anisimova said. “It’s never easy. Also had a really tricky opponent today that I never played before, so I was really ready for it.

“Yeah, I’m happy with the way I played and the way I managed the weather. Overall, just happy and looking forward to the next one.”

Anisimova, the 2025 Queen’s Club runner-up to Tatjana Maria, will play compatriot Iva Jovic in an all-American quarterfinal.

The sixth-seeded Jovic swept left-hander Alexandra Eala 6-2, 6-2.

“I feel like she’s been playing some really great tennis. She’s also been a very consistent player,” Anisimova said of Jovic. “She’s very stable, especially at such a young age. It’s been really impressive to watch her and see her come along.

“Never played her, so it will be an exciting match. Looking forward to it. I always look forward to playing a player that I have never played before. I feel like you can always learn something from it. Yeah, I’m sure it’s going to be a great match. Yeah, she’s very impressive.”

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Richard Pagliaro

Richard Pagliaro is Tennis Now Managing Editor. He is a graduate of New York University and has covered pro tennis for more than 35 years. Richard was tennis columnist for Gannett Newspapers in NY, served as Managing Editor for TennisWeek.com and worked as a writer/editor for Tennis.com. He has been TennisNow.com managing editor since 2010.

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