Victoria Mboko was leading 4-3 in the second set and attempting to break Karolina Pliskova’s serve when she had an unfortunate fall. The 19-year-old Canadian crumpled to the ground, clutching her left knee and screaming in pain. She left the court slowly before heading into the locker room and retiring. It was the second such incident at HSBC Championship following Alex Eala’s slip as safety concerns grew.

It was not Mboko who was at fault for slipping. Later that day, in the same Andy Murray Arena, Filipino star Alex Eala fell during her round-of-16 match against Iva Jovic. Eala was fortunate enough not to get injured, but Mboko was not so lucky.

The grass courts at the Queen’s Club are quite notorious for more than just their fast, low bounces and big-serving champions. Queen’s grass has ended careers; Juan Martin del Potro never recovered from his 2019 slip here. He slipped near the net and reinjured his knee, had four surgeries and only played one more professional match before retiring.

Frances Tiafoe fell on Court 1 in 2024 and retired with a hip injury, prompting former world No. 8 John Isner to label the courts on social media as “diabolically slippery.”

During the same tournament, Holger Rune complained to the umpire that he had fallen three times. I can’t stand on the court.”

According to reports, Queen’s Club’s policy prohibits players from practicing on match courts before the tournament begins, which is contributing to the issue. Until competition begins, the grass remains unscuffed and dangerously slippery. Wimbledon discontinued this policy in 2021, after a wave of slips. However, the Queen’s Club has not followed suit.

Serena’s Comeback Faces A Hiccup

Serena Williams, 44, chose Queen’s Club, a grass event on a surface she is familiar with, for her return to professional tennis after nearly four years away. On Tuesday night, she and Mboko defeated the third-seeded pair of Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe 7-6(2), 6-2.

Twenty-four hours later, Mboko retired from the court with a knee injury. Mboko has been ruled out of the doubles draw entirely, ending the Williams comeback run before it reached its zenith. The momentum of a well-planned comeback was shattered not by a patch of grass that has injured players for years.

Both incidents occurred this week at the Andy Murray Arena, which was named after the first British Wimbledon winner since Fred Perry in 1936. The LTA, which runs the HSBC Championships, has not responded to the court conditions. Questions about player safety have gone unanswered at Queen’s Club. The HSBC Championships will continue at Queen’s Club until June 14.