The Cinch Championships is an ATP 500 grass-court tournament, which is held in London, Great Britain, shortly before the only major played on the grass surface.
Date: | 17 - 23 June |
Category: | ATP 500 |
Surface: | Grass |
Location: | London, Great Britain |
Venue: | The Queen’s Club, West Kensington |
Players: | 32 players (2024 Cinch Championships ATP Entry List) |
Prize Money: | 2,255,655€ (2024 Cinch Championships ATP Prize Money) |
Points: | 500 for champion (2024 Cinch Championships ATP Points) |
Draw: | 2024 Cinch Championships ATP Draw |
Official website: | https://www.lta.org.uk/fan-zone/international/cinch-championships/ |
The Queen’s Club Championships, is one of the oldest ATP Tour events held in West Kensington, London, each season. Recently, Cinch has been the competition’s main sponsor, so Queen's is often referred to as the Cinch Championships.
Before moving to its current venue at the Queen’s Club in 1890, this competition had several names and venues. Previously, it was called the London Athletic Open, the Championship of London, and the London Championships. However, it moved the Queen’s Club in 1890 and has been called the Queen’s Club Championships ever since.
The event has always taken place on outdoor grass courts. It used to be a men’s, women’s, and mixed event. However, the women’s competition ended after the 1973 tournament. Despite Queen’s prestige in the tennis calendar, it was only an ATP 250 event between 1990 and 2014. However, in 2015, Queen’s was upgraded to an ATP 500 competition.
Traditionally, the Cinch Championships is held one week before the start of Wimbledon. Therefore, many players head to West Kensington to practice on grass ahead of the third Grand Slam of the season. The allure of Queen’s has attracted some of the best ATP players in history.
Since Queen’s became an ATP Tour event in 1990, some of the greatest ever men’s players have won the singles titles. The likes of Boris Becker, Pete Sampras, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, and Carlos Alcaraz have won at Queen’s.
However, former British number one Murray has the most title wins. The Scottish star won at Queen’s five times between 2009 and 2016. In 2019, Murray also had success in the doubles draw when he won the title whilst playing alongside Spanish player Feliciano Lopez.