Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro, Frances Tiafoe Among Americans Making Waves on Grass Ahead of Wimbledon

Multiple American tennis stars have made deep runs on grass this week as Wimbledon approaches. After a clay season marked by mixed results, Jessica Pegula, Frances Tiafoe, and Emma Navarro are among the top American stars seeking a reset on grass courts. In total, six Americans have reached singles semifinals this week across tournaments in Berlin, Halle, Nottingham, and Queen’s Club.

On that note, here’s a look at this week’s American semifinalists in singles:

Jessica Pegula

Pegula is the lone American semifinalist at the Berlin Tennis Open after Coco Gauff’s early exit and Madison Keys’ quarterfinal defeat to Pegula.

The former champion (2024) is seeded third at the WTA 500 tournament and has advanced to the final four after straight-set wins against Kateřina Siniaková and Keys. She faces World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka for a place in Sunday’s final.

Emma Navarro

Navarro is staging a competitive comeback after a rough period on tour, which was followed by an extended break. The American star has already clinched a clay title in Strasbourg upon return and is chasing her first grass-court title at the WTA 250 Nottingham Open.

After opening her grass-court season with a loss to compatriot Caty McNally in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Navarro has found her footing on British grass. She is into the semifinals after wins against Anna Bondár, Yuliia Starodubtseva, and Jéssica Bouzas Maneiro. The third seed faces Viktorija Golubic for a place in the final.

Frances Tiafoe

Tiafoe is making it count on the grass courts of Halle. After a quarterfinal exit in Stuttgart last week, he has improved on that result at the ongoing ATP 500 event. He is into the semifinals after wins against Flavio Cobolli, Sho Shimabukuro, and second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime. Against Auger-Aliassime, the American saved three match points to secure a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(12) comeback win.

He faces local favorite Daniel Altmaier in the semifinal as his hunt for a second grass-court title continues.

Taylor Fritz

Fritz is enjoying an excellent start to his grass campaign. After reaching the final in Stuttgart last week, where he fell short against Ben Shelton, the 28-year-old has exacted revenge against the fellow American to advance to the semifinals in Halle.

Fritz saved a match point against Shelton in the 6-7(5), 7-6(8), 7-6(3) comeback thriller. Before that, he beat Fabian Marozsan and Zizou Bergs. He has set up a penultimate clash against top seed Alexander Zverev as his quest for a sixth grass-court title continues.

Tommy Paul

Paul was forced to delay his grass campaign after a neck discomfort derailed his Stuttgart run. He has made up for the setback by reaching the semifinals of the Queen’s Club Championships, where he was the champion in 2024. Seeded eighth, Paul beat compatriot Zachary Svajda, Botic van de Zandschulp, and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to make the final four. He has confirmed a clash against Ugo Humbert on Saturday.

Brandon Nakashima

Another American has made a deep run at the ATP 500 event at Queen’s Club. Nakashima, ranked No. 32 in the world, has staged an inspired run, beating Márton Fucsovics and Ignacio Buse before upsetting top seed Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-3 in the quarterfinal. Standing between him and a maiden grass-court final is seventh seed Francisco Cerúndolo.

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It remains to be seen whether any of these Americans will join Ben Shelton (Stuttgart) and Robin Montgomery (‘s-Hertogenbosch) as 2026 grass-court titlists this weekend.