Players to win Roland Garros & Queen's Club Championships titles in same year

Carlos Alcaraz became just the third man in Open Era history to accomplish this feat.

Transitioning from clay to grass is one of the most challenging shifts in professional tennis, demanding both physical adaptability and strategic recalibration. On clay courts like the Roland Garros, the ball travels slower and bounces more, benefiting players who rely on stamina, heavy topspin, and long baseline rallies.

Grass courts, such as at Queen’s Club, are the fastest ones on tour, offering low, unpredictable bounces and quick points, which reward aggressive play, strong serves, and quick reflexes.

For a player to win at the prestigious Roland Garros, and then return to an ATP-500 event on a different surface (the Queen’s Club Championship in this case), and win there as well, shows his greatness and tremendous versatility.

On that note, let’s take a look at the list of players who won both Roland Garros & Queen’s Club titles in the same year.

Ilie Nastase (1973)

Ilie Nastase’s 1973 season was one of the most dominant in the history of tennis. At Roland Garros, he swept through the draw without dropping a set, showcasing his clay-court mastery and defeating Yugoslav veteran Nikola Pilić in the final 6-3, 6-3, 6-0.

His path included wins over Juan Gisbert, Nikola Pilić, and Adriano Panatta, and he was so dominant that only Roger Taylor even earned a set point against him, which Nastase saved with a stunning backhand. This French Open title was his only Roland Garros singles crown and capped a stretch in which he won nine clay-court titles that year.

Just weeks later, Nastase went to grass and captured the Queen’s Club title, defeating Roger Taylor 9–8, 6–3 in the final. The 1973 season also saw him become the first-ever ATP world No. 1, and he won 16 tour-level titles.

Rafael Nadal (2008)

Rafael Nadal’s 2008 campaign was. At Roland Garros 2008, the Spaniard was at the peak of his clay-court powers, storming through the draw without losing a set for the second time in his career.

He beat Novak Djokovic in the semifinals and then delivered a crushing 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 victory over Roger Federer in the final, one of the most one-sided contests in French Open history. This marked his fourth consecutive Roland Garros title.

While Nadal was a favorite in Paris, his transition to grass that year marked a defining chapter in his career. At the Queen’s Club Championships, he showcased his evolving versatility by defeating elite grass-court opponents, including Andy Roddick and Novak Djokovic, clinching the title with a 7–6(6), 7–5 win in the final over the Serbian.

He carried this momentum into Wimbledon, where he captured his maiden crown at SW19, sealing one of the most iconic and complete campaigns in tennis history.

Carlos Alcaraz (2025)

Carlos Alcaraz entered the French Open 2025 on the back of winning the Italian Open against home favourite Jannik Sinner. The Spaniard had a topsy-turvy campaign, where he did not seem at his dominating best in the initial rounds, eventually managing to do just enough to advance higher. However, he was in for his biggest test against Sinner in the finals.

The defending champion was in a spot of bother after the first two hours, losing both sets and going down a break in the third. What followed was nothing short of a miracle, as the 22-year-old saved 3 match points on his serve to prevail in a marathon five-hour battle. The two-time Wimbledon winner returned to Queen’s Club, looking for his second title after 2023 at the venue.

He enjoyed a seamless journey, as he did not face a single top-20 player, but had to work hard for wins over fellow Spaniards Jaume Munar and Roberto Bautista Agut, before finally emerging victorious over Jiri Lehecka in the finals, to bring up his 21st overall career title and third consecutive title triumph.

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