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Madison Keys secured her third Eastbourne title with a straight-sets win over Tatjana Maria.<\/b><\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The American first triumphed in Eastbourne in 2014 – her first WTA title – before a second success came in 2023.<\/p>\n
“I always forget how heavy this one is,” Keys, 31, joked as she lifted the trophy.<\/p>\n
“It’s been such a special place for me to play here in Eastbourne.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
She was rarely troubled on serve, but threw a lifeline to 112th-ranked Maria as she squandered two set points with two double faults.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The American finally made the breakthrough in the seventh game of the set to secure the break and go 4-3 up.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The two players will also meet again in the coming days when they face each other in the Wimbledon first round.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n