Wednesday, June 11

Sports Mole previews Thursday’s Queen’s Club Championships second-round match between Qinwen Zheng and McCartney Kessler, including predictions, head-to-head and their tournament so far.

Qinwen Zheng, the top seed at the Queen's Club Championships, seeks to avoid an early exit against American McCartney Kessler in Thursday's second-round match.

The Chinese No. 1 returns to action for the first time since losing to Aryna Sabalenka at the French Open and aims to prevent falling to the unseeded American in her first match on grass since last year's shocking first-round Wimbledon exit to Lulu Sun.

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Match preview

A week has passed since Zheng lamented her costly mistakes against Sabalenka in Paris, where she believed unnecessary unforced errors against the world No. 1 cost her a strong chance of winning consecutive matches against the Belarusian.

Back in action on a different surface, the Olympic gold medallist hopes to avoid consecutive losses in her first match on grass this season, sharpening her preparations for Wimbledon.

However, that is far from assured for the top seed and world No. 5, whose proficiency on the surface leaves room for improvement.

While Zheng defeated Naomi Osaka in three sets 12 months ago in Berlin, that victory remains the Chinese player's only success on grass in three years, having beaten Sloane Stephens and Greet Minnen in the first and second rounds at Wimbledon in 2022.

Defeating Osaka ended a four-match losing streak on the surface, but the five-time WTA titlist has since lost consecutive matches against Katerina Siniakova and Sun in Berlin and Wimbledon respectively, highlighting her lack of expertise on grass.

The Chinese player's deficiencies on grass provide the world No. 42 hope of upsetting the Olympic champion in their first meeting on the WTA Tour.

Including qualifying matches, Kessler enters Thursday's last-16 match with a 22-14 record for the season and seeks her 23rd victory against a top-10 player.

Having already defeated one elite opponent this year — Kessler overcame countrywoman Coco Gauff in Dubai in February — the 25-year-old aims for a second win to marginally improve her 1-4 record against the tour's best players.

However, while Kessler's career record on grass stands at five wins and two losses, four of those victories have come in qualifying.

Having achieved just one main draw victory on a grass court — this week's 6-2, 6-4 success over British player Francesca Jones — the American aims to secure back-to-back wins to progress to the final eight and take on Emma Raducanu or Rebecca Sramkova.

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Tournament so far

Qinwen Zheng:

First round: Bye

 

McCartney Kessler:

First round: vs. Francesca Jones 6-2 6-4

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Head To Head

Zheng and Kessler meet for the first time on the women’s tour, with the winner taking a 1-0 lead in their head-to-head.

While the American player enters Thursday’s match with a 1-4 record against top-10 players, the world No. 5 and top seed at Queen’s has secured five consecutive victories over players ranked between 41st and 100th in 2025, despite losing the first two against Laura Siegemund in Australia and Peyton Stearns in Dubai.

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We say: Zheng to win in three sets

Given Zheng’s 3-8 career record on grass, Kessler should back herself to challenge the Chinese player on Thursday.

However, the top seed is anticipated to avoid a shock, even if she might be pushed to a decider on a surface where she has historically struggled. ID:575081:1false2false3false: from db desktop :LenBod:collect5191:

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