Rankings Watch: Vekic, Montgomery lead a week of unlikely rises

The first lesson of the 2026 Grass-Court Swing on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz was the same as the last lesson of the Clay-Court Swing: never underestimate anyone in qualifying.

Fresh off Maja Chwalinska's run to the Roland Garros final -- the first by a qualifier in the Open Era -- the opening week of the grass season produced two more unlikely champions. At the HSBC Championships at Queen's Club, Donna Vekic became the seventh lucky loser in the Open Era to win a WTA title. In 's-Hertogenbosch, Robin Montgomery, ranked No. 484, came through qualifying to become the third-lowest-ranked champion in WTA history.

Vekic fell in the final round of qualifying to Anna Blinkova, but entered the main draw as a lucky loser after Marta Kostyuk withdrew with an ankle injury. From there, the Croatian dropped just one set all week -- against former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova in the quarterfinals -- and defeated three British players in straight sets: Mika Stojsavljevic in the first round, Katie Boulter in the semifinals and Emma Raducanu in the championship match.

Vekic claimed her fifth career title and first at WTA 500 level or above. A Wimbledon semifinalist in 2024, she has now reached six career WTA finals on grass and won two titles on the surface. After climbing to a career-high No. 17 in January 2025, Vekic slipped as low as No. 117 this March. The 29-year-old returns to the Top 50 for the first time in a year in the latest PIF WTA Rankings, rising 43 places from No. 76 to No. 33.

The six previous lucky losers to lift WTA trophies:

Kay McDaniel (Atlanta 1980)

Olga Danilovic (Moscow River Cup 2018)

Coco Gauff (Linz 2019)

Maria Timofeeva (Budapest 2023)

Nao Hibino (Prague 2023)

Sara Sorribes Tormo (Cleveland 2023)

Raducanu's wait for a second title since her 2021 US Open breakthrough continues, but she reached her second final of the season -- and first on home soil -- while showing signs of a return to form after an illness-disrupted spring. She rises 11 places from No. 42 to No. 31.

Meanwhile, in 's-Hertogenbosch, Montgomery completed a remarkable comeback from wrist surgery. The 21-year-old American reached a career-high No. 95 last June, but spent nine months on the sidelines between July 2025 and April of this year. Before last week, she had not won a tour-level match since Roland Garros a year ago, and her title run nearly ended before it began: in the opening round of qualifying, she rallied past Yuan Yue 6-7(4), 7-6(1), 6-1.

But Montgomery's serve became one of the week's biggest weapons on grass. The American struck 55 aces in six matches to reach her first tour-level final, then captured the title when Barbora Krejcikova withdrew with an illness. Montgomery vaults 290 places to No. 194 in the latest PIF WTA Rankings, while Krejcikova -- playing her first tour-level final since winning Wimbledon in 2024 -- rises six spots from No. 45 to No. 39.

Only two players have won a WTA tournament while ranked lower than Montgomery (excluding those without a ranking) -- No. 579 Angelique Widjaja at Bali 2001 and No. 508 Elina Svitolina at Strasbourg 2023. Two unranked players have also won WTA titles -- Mirjana Lucic-Baroni at Bol 1997 and Kim Clijsters at the US Open 2009. Both Lucic-Baroni and Clijsters would have been ranked under present-day rules (Lucic-Baroni outside the Top 800 and Clijsters inside the Top 200).

Andreeva returns to Top 5; Linette back in Top 50, Pliskova back in Top 100

Roland Garros champion Mirra Andreeva did not compete last week, but she rises one spot to No. 5 after Amanda Anisimova dropped points from her runner-up finish at Queen's in 2025. The move matches Andreeva's career-high ranking, which she previously held in October 2025.

In 's-Hertogenbosch, Magda Linette reached her first semifinal in a year, dating to Nottingham in 2025. Linette climbs 12 places from No. 60 to No. 48, returning to the Top 50 for the first time since March.

Karolina Pliskova continued her impressive comeback from two ankle surgeries by reaching the Queen's quarterfinals. The former World No. 1 was sidelined for 13 months between August 2024 and September 2025, and started this season ranked No. 1,054. Six months later, she's back in the Top 100 for the first time since February 2025, jumping 19 spots from No. 106 to No. 87.

's-Hertogenbosch semifinalist Ajla Tomljanovic returns to the Top 100 after a three-week absence, climbing 13 places from No. 109 to No. 96. Along the way, the Australian overturned a combined 0-7 record against Dayana Yastremska and Caty McNally, defeating both to reach her first tour-level semifinal since Rabat in 2025.

Serena Williams returns to doubles rankings

Playing her first professional tournament in nearly four years, Serena Williams returns to the doubles rankings at No. 593. The former doubles World No. 1 reached the Queen's quarterfinals alongside Victoria Mboko before the Canadian was forced to withdraw with an MCL injury. It marks Williams' first appearance on either rankings list since September 2022.

Krueger, Kawa claim WTA 125 crowns

Two WTA 125 events were held last week -- in Ilkley, on grass, and in Modena, on clay.

Former No. 29 Ashlyn Krueger continued her grass-court resurgence by lifting the trophy in Ilkley, defeating qualifier Celine Naef 7-5, 6-2 in the final. The 22-year-old American, who was also a semifinalist at the Birmingham WTA 125 the previous week as a qualifier, rises 18 places from No. 113 to No. 95. She returns to the Top 100 for the first time since March. Meanwhile, Naef -- who was a 's-Hertogenbosch quarterfinalist in 2023 -- returns to the Top 200 for the first time since October 2025 with a 13-place jump to No. 193.

In Modena, 33-year-old Katarzyna Kawa won her second WTA 125 title -- just a month after winning her first in Huzhou -- after saving one championship point to edge Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(6) in the final. Having started 2026 by losing her first five matches, the Polish player has now won 11 of her past 13 matches. She's boosted 23 places to No. 120, just eight spots off the career high of No. 112 that she set in November 2020. Meanwhile, Bronzetti climbs 21 places to No. 126.

Other notable rankings movements

Katie Boulter, +17 to No. 56: On home soil, former No. 23 Boulter stunned Elena Rybakina to reach the Queen's semifinals and to score her first Top 3 win. Three of Boulter's seven career tour-level semifinals have come on grass.

Kamilla Rakhimova, +13 to No. 65: Vekic wasn't the only lucky loser to thrive at Queen's -- Rakhimova reached her second career WTA 500 quarterfinal after replacing Belinda Bencic in the main draw. The Uzbekistani is now just five places off the career high of No. 60 that she set in December 2024.

Daria Snigur, +9 to No. 75: The Ukrainian reached her second tour-level quarterfinal of 2026 in 's-Hertogenbosch, and rises to a new career high.

Darja Vidmanova, +11 to No. 108: The 2025 NCAA champion reached the Ilkley WTA 125 semifinals after saving five match points in a marathon all-Czech first round against Linda Fruhvirtova, 6-7(6), 7-6(10), 6-2.

Polina Iatcenko, +9 to No. 155: There was grass-court tennis beyond the United Kingdom and the Netherlands last week -- the Hurghada ITF W50 marked Egypt's first professional event on the surface, and Chennai quarterfinalist Iatcenko won it as the top seed.

Julia Avdeeva, +37 to No. 191: Avdeeva, 23, won her second ITF W75 event of 2026, and fifth of her career, in Ceska Lipa last week. She's three spots off the career high of No. 188 that she set in May 2024.

Kajsa Rinaldo Persson, +32 to No. 208: The 28-year-old Swede reached the biggest final of her career to date at last week's Zagreb ITF W100, defeating former No. 45 Anna-Lena Friedsam in the semifinals, and is up to a new career high.

Elina Avanesyan, +66 to No. 215: Former No. 36 Avanesyan took the Zagreb ITF W100 title -- her first at any level since the 2023 Wiesbaden ITF W100, and the highest level of tournament won by an Armenian woman.

Mia Pohankova, +27 to No. 253: Last year's Wimbledon junior champion, the 17-year-old Slovak received a 's-Hertogenbosch wild card and upset Clara Tauson in the first round for her first career Top 30 win.

Li Zongyu, +136 to No. 289: The Chinese 23-year-old claimed her first ITF W100 title in Wuning as a qualifier last week, and soars to a new career high.

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