The positive for Emma Raducanu and her many fans is that the 23-year-old Brit ticked up in form at the HSBC Championships, and was trending in the right direction just ahead of 2026 Wimbledon at the end of the month. The negative was in the final of the former; she played a red-hot Donna Vekic.
Vekic is the kind of player, as seemingly all Czech WTA players are, that could be a real threat at the upcoming grass-court major. She has a good serve and volleys well. She even reached the semifinals of Wimbledon last season and isn't dealing with any of her past injury issues ahead of this year's version.
No one could have expected the absolute destruction in the first set that Vekic handed Raducanu, though. The Brit didn't win a game and only won about half the number of points that the Czech did. The first-set bagel for Raducanu was no mistake; she was being beaten by a player in top form who was much more aggressive.
Donna Vekic defeats Emma Raducanu in the final of the 2026 HSBC Championships
Still, the match, of course, was a best two-of-three sets, and Raducanu simply needed to get back some kind of control to put herself in a position to win just the second title of her career, and her first since she won the 2021 US Open. She did that by holding serve in the second game of set two and then breaking Vekic. Raducanu was suddenly back in the match.
She couldn't quite take full control, though, even after getting another break. She led 5-2, but Vekic ran off the next three games, including back-to-back breaks. The Czech then held to get to 6-5, a rather astonishing change of momentum, though she still needed to close out the set. A back and forth second set was still very much in the balance.
Serving at 5-6, Emma Raducanu struggled to 15-40, but Vekic couldn't get the break initially as the Brit fought back. Raducanu saved a third championship point by hitting a wicked forehand winner. She would end up taking the game to force a tie-break, with the London crowd firmly behind Raducanu.
After a tight tie-break where Vekic couldn't seem to finish Raducanu off, she finally did to take the tie-break 8-6.
Both players should feel good about their performance at the HSBC Championships, however. Rarely did they drop a set, and both should feel good about their chances at Wimbledon. Due to Donna Vekic's performance in 2025 at the grass-court major, though, she should rightfully feel she can win the next major.
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