Madison Keys secured her third Eastbourne title with a straight-sets win over Tatjana Maria.
Keys beat German Maria 7-5 6-4 to join tennis legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova as the only players to win the women’s tournament on three or more occasions.
The American first triumphed in Eastbourne in 2014 – her first WTA title – before a second success came in 2023.
“I always forget how heavy this one is,” Keys, 31, joked as she lifted the trophy.
“It’s been such a special place for me to play here in Eastbourne.
“I won my first title here many, many years ago, so to win for a third time means the world to me. To do it in front of such amazing fans is the icing on the cake.”
Keys used her powerful serve and approached the net regularly to put pressure on 2025 Queen’s champion Maria, and secured a break early in the first set.
She was rarely troubled on serve, but threw a lifeline to 112th-ranked Maria as she squandered two set points with two double faults.
However, Keys put the pressure straight back on Maria, taking her to deuce the very next game and finding a way through the 38-year-old’s defence to break straight back before wrapping up the set at the fifth time of asking.
Keys had an immediate opportunity to break in the opening game of the second set, but Maria used her sliced forehand and backhand effectively to dig herself out of trouble.
The American finally made the breakthrough in the seventh game of the set to secure the break and go 4-3 up.
Keys made easier work this time of closing out the set and with it the match, earning herself three championship points but needing only one.
The 2025 Australian Open champion, who has now won 11 tour titles, did not drop a set all week and continues her impressive run in tour finals, having won her past five.
Next up for both players is Wimbledon, with Keys set to face compatriot Kayla Day in the first round, while Maria – a 2022 semi-finalist – starts her campaign against Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.
In the men’s final, Ugo Humbert and Zizou Bergs will have to continue their battle for the title on Sunday after play was cancelled due to rain.
Weather halted the action after just three games of the first set, and following more than three hours of delays it was confirmed there would be no more play.
The two players will also meet again in the coming days when they face each other in the Wimbledon first round.
Before the rain set in there was British success in the men’s wheelchair event, with Gordon Reid defeating compatriot Ben Bartram 6-0 6-3 to take the title.
Source:
www.bbc.co.uk
