A short grasscourt season, coupled with the fact it’s a unique surface, means we often see surprising results at this point in the calendar.
Yet over the years, several players have proven they can consistently adapt to, and excel on, grass courts.
We profile nine players who step up on grass, who to qualify for this list have all:
- recorded a strong result at Wimbledon
- won at least one tour-level title on grass
- compiled a better winning record on grass compared to other surfaces
- shown good form on the lawns in 2026
Taylor Fritz
Best Wimbledon result: Semifinal (2025)
Grasscourt titles: Eastbourne (2019, 2022, 2024, 2025), Stuttgart (2025)
Win percentage on grass: 66.25%
The American has developed into one of the game’s strongest grasscourters, last year pushing Carlos Alcaraz to the limit in a tense Wimbledon semifinal.
He’s also reached another two quarterfinals at the All England Club and is the winner of five ATP grasscourt titles, including four at Eastbourne.
Despite an injury-marred 2026, Fritz has rebounded strongly on the lawns with back-to-back finals in Stuttgart and Halle.
While he is most notable for his US Open final finish in 2024, Fritz has a significantly higher winning percentage on grass (66.25) compared with hard courts (61.53).
Tatjana Maria
Best Wimbledon result: Semifinal (2022)
Grasscourt titles: Queen’s (2025), Mallorca (2018)
Win percentage on grass: 61.45%
The German veteran has sub-50 per cent winning records on hard courts and clay but soars on grass, with that success rate spiking to more than 61 per cent.
After showing strong signs earlier on the surface with her first WTA title in 2018 in Mallorca, Maria has since posted a Wimbledon semifinal in 2022, continues to improve with age with her slice-and-dice style on the surface.
The mother of two qualified at Queen’s last year then went all the way to the title, stunning Muchova, Rybakina, Keys and Anisimova in succession for the biggest trophy of her career.
And she continues to thrive, at age 38, in 2026, reaching the Nottingham quarters and now winning through to the Eastbourne semis.
Adrian Mannarino
Best Wimbledon result: Fourth round (2013, 2017, 2018)
Grasscourt titles: s-Hertogenbosch (2019), Newport (2023)
Win percentage on grass: 57.89%
Like Maria, veteran Frenchman Adrian Mannarino plays with an unorthodox style that’s perfectly suited to grass.
A lefty with soft hands who redirects shots with ease, he’s a two-time ATP titlist on grass and has made five grasscourt finals overall.
Although he hasn’t reached the second week at Wimbledon in eight years, Mannarino has appeared at that stage three times, and will take confidence into the 2026 Championships after recently winning through to the s-Hertogenbosch semifinals.
Donna Vekic
Best Wimbledon result: Semifinal (2024)
Grasscourt titles: Queen’s (2026), Nottingham (2017)
Win percentage on grass: 61%
Vekic won the biggest title of her career just two weeks ago at the WTA 500 Queen’s Club event, proving what many long knew about her grasscourt credentials.
Behind a dominant serve and point-ending groundstrokes, Vekic was unplayable in the final against Emma Raducanu, winning 6-0 7-6(6) to claim her second grasscourt title after Nottingham in 2017.
In fact, Vekic has reached six WTA finals on grass – astonishing considering how short the grasscourt season is each year – and in 2024 came within a few points of the Wimbledon final before losing a compelling semifinal to Jasmine Paolini.
Tommy Paul
Best Wimbledon result: Quarterfinal (2024)
Grasscourt titles: Queen’s (2024)
Win percentage on grass: 65.91%
In a recent interview with ATPTour.com, Paul said of his coach Brad Stine: “I never thought I'd be a grasscourt guy, weirdly enough. He was somebody who told me, ‘Tommy, your game is going to match up very well with grass’. He told me so much that I started believing it.”
And indeed, that belief has translated to impressive success on the surface, with his athletic, all-court game proving a perfect match for the quick lawns.
In 2024 he broke through for his first grass title at Queen’s Club and leveraged that momentum to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals just weeks later.
In 2026 he returned to the Queen’s final, his third ATP final on grass and a result improving his record on the surface to 29-15.
Alex de Minaur
Best Wimbledon result: Quarterfinal (2024)
Grasscourt titles: Eastbourne (2021), s-Hertogenbosch (2024)
Win percentage on grass: 65.57%
Australians thriving on grass is nothing new, and for Aussie No.1 Alex de Minaur, it’s the surface on which he most comes alive.
Fleet of foot and playing low to the ground, De Minaur’s flat shots and ability to use opponents’ pace and transition to the net are perfect ingredients for grasscourt success.
He’s reached four ATP finals on grass – winning two – and was a Wimbledon quarterfinalist in 2024, returning to the second week again in 2025. He also won his first ATP Challenger title in grass, in Nottingham in 2018.
Already this year he’s 5-2 on grass after advancing to the s-Hertogenbosch final, and he enters Wimbledon as the No.5 seed bidding to reach the second week for the fourth time in the past five years.
Katie Boulter
Best Wimbledon result: Third round (2022, 2023)
Grasscourt titles: Nottingham (2023, 2024)
Win percentage on grass: 61.76%
De Minaur’s partner Katie Boulter is another who rises to the occasion on grass, with her big serve and first-strike style perfectly suited to the surface.
The Brit has thrived at her home Grand Slam, winning eight matches at Wimbledon – by far the best among the four majors – and also scoring two top-10 wins there, including in 2022 over Karolina Pliskova, the previous year’s finalist.
“I’m lucky enough to have stepped onto that [Centre] court and played as well,” Boulter said on The Sit-Down podcast, “and I actually got some of my best wins there.”
A two-time Nottingham champion on the WTA Tour, Boulter recently reached the WTA 500 semifinals on grass at the Queen’s Club, beating top seed and former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina along the way.
Karolina Pliskova
Best Wimbledon result: Final (2021)
Grasscourt titles: Eastbourne (2017, 2019), Nottingham (2016)
Win percentage on grass: 64.95%
Speaking of Pliskova, she’s another who excels on grass having reached seven tour-level finals on the surface – including at Wimbledon in 2021.
One of the best serves in the sport, plus flat, penetrating groundstrokes, have helped Pliskova to a winning record of almost 65 per cent on the lawns.
Already this season she’s reached the Queen’s quarters and Nottingham semifinals, and enters Wimbledon looking to continue a long line of Czech success – in the past 15 years alone her countrywomen Petra Kvitova, Marketa Vondrousova and Barbora Krejickova have all hoisted the Venus Rosewater Dish.
Frances Tiafoe
Best Wimbledon result: Fourth round (2022)
Grasscourt titles: Stuttgart (2023), Halle (2026)
Win percentage on grass: 59.62%
Another American on this list, Tiafoe’s electric style has been rewarded on the quick, slick surface.
In 2023 he won the Stuttgart title to break into the top 10, and followed that up three years later with another grass title in Germany – this time in Halle, beating three top-10 players en route, for his biggest career title.
Last week’s Halle victory followed his quarterfinal in Stuttgart, meaning he enters Wimbledon with momentum. Although he hasn’t produced his absolute best at SW19, he’s been so close to a breakthrough.
In 2022 he came within a set of the quarterfinals, then in 2024 he pushed eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz to five thrilling sets in the third round.