Keys wins a third Eastbourne title to arrive at Wimbledon in form

American second seed Madison Keys won the Lexus Eastbourne Open for a third time on Saturday afternoon, beating German Tatjana Maria 7-5, 6-4 to lift the trophy on the south coast days before Wimbledon.

Keys edged a tight opening set before pulling clear in the second to complete a straight-sets win, adding to the Eastbourne titles she claimed in 2014 and 2023. It was a fitting end to a commanding week, and she made no secret of her delight at returning to the winner’s circle.

“It’s amazing to be in the winner’s circle again, and I hope for many more,” Keys said, before a lighter reflection on the prize itself. “I always forget how heavy this one is.”

It was also her first title since she became a Grand Slam champion at the 2025 Australian Open, ending a wait that had stretched across 74 weeks and 23 tournaments

Maria, ranked No 112, had been the story of the week, the German producing a run of upsets to reach the final. She knocked out top seed Jasmine Paolini (6-4, 6-3) in the semi-finals and had earlier accounted for Latvian third seed Jelena Ostapenko, who retired trailing (6-1, 1-2 ret.), as well as Czech Tereza Valentova (6-3, 7-5) and Russian Anastasia Zakharova (6-2, 6-1), but found Keys a step too far in the final.

Keys had dropped little on her way to the title, beating Croat Petra Marcinko, who retired in the first set (6-1), American seventh seed McCartney Kessler (6-3, 6-1), Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (6-0, 6-1) and Australian Talia Gibson (6-4, 6-4).

She heads to Wimbledon with momentum and a place among the seeds, a potential third-round opponent for last year’s runner-up Amanda Anisimova.