The WTA Tour is back in London for the first time since 1973, with the women officially taking to the courts at the prestigious Queen's Club this week. The West Kensington venue already plays host to a successful men's event, which consistently wins the award for best ATP 500, and the women have longed for their own opportunity to compete here.

Their wishes have finally been answered, and British sensation Emma Raducanu, Australian Open champion Madison Keys and Olympic gold medallist Qinwen Zheng are among those gracing the grass courts at Queen's after spending years being "jealous" of the ATP guys.

For Keys, signing up for the WTA 500 at Queen's was a no-brainer. Her good friend, former player Laura Robson, is the tournament director, and she has always envied her ATP friends when they head to west London.

"Obviously, when Laura asked for me to play the tournament, it was a pretty quick yes. I'm happy to be here, and I've always loved the grass swing, so to start here for the first time in many, many years is really fun," the world No. 8 said.

"I've always heard amazing things about the tournament and I've always been pretty jealous because the guys just rave about how great it is here and they love playing here. So, I'm really looking forward to being able to play here."

Although she's a Grand Slam finalist and Olympic champion, Zheng doesn't have much experience on the grass and has yet to reach a quarter-final on the surface. But the world No. 5 couldn't pass up the chance to be part of the line-up as the WTA Tour returns to Queen's.

The Chinese star explained: "I watched the men's event Queens and I'm really happy. The first time for the women, in my generation, that we can play in Queen's in such a special club.

"It's amazing for us that we can start first and we have the experience to play on such beautiful grass. I think it's a very classic, old, traditional place, and it's a special club because you have all the neighbourhood around, which is an amazing design from a long, long time ago."

Donna Vekic, who thrives on the grass and reached the Wimbledon semi-final last summer, always hoped the women would one day have their own stage at the prestigious club.

A former London resident, the Croatian world No. 21 said: "It's very historical and this club, when I watch the men's tournament, it's always amazing and I always wished that we had a chance to play and now we do, so I'm very excited to be playing here."

But arguably nobody is more excited than the British players, who grew up watching the ATP tournament and finally get to play in front of the home crowd here.

Asked whether she had also been jealous of the ATP players in the past, Raducanu smiled and said: "A little bit, healthy. But it was great seeing the guys play here, of course.

"When I was young, I came here with my dad. I was like hunting the brownies on the ground and not so interested in the tennis. But now to be back here and competing is a different feel for sure.

"It's kind of interesting how it feels because you're at home, you don't necessarily feel like you're playing a tournament or a match tomorrow. But I think it is also really good to switch off and just to have comforts everywhere."

British No. 1 Katie Boulter added: "I've actually always said to myself, I wish there was a women's event here, I wish I got the chance to play on this court, because you can feel the history and you can feel how incredible it is."