Maya Joint defeats Pavlyuchenkova to set up Eastbourne final against Eala
The teenage Australian outplayed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-3. She’ll play Filipino qualifier Alexandra Eala in what is an intriguing final in Eastbourne
Maya Joint, Eastbourne International, 2025 © Action Plus / Psnewz
19-year-old Maya Joint overcame experienced Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-3 to reach the final of the Eastbourne Open on her main-draw grass-court tournament debut.
In doing so, Joint – who was born in the US but represents her father’s native Australia – has set up the captivating prospect of a first meeting between herself and fellow rising young star, Alexandra Eala.
The Filipino qualifier will be playing in her maiden WTA final, having come through against Varvara Gracheva in the day’s first semi-final. Joint, meanwhile, will be contesting her second having taken the title on the clay courts of Rabat earlier in the year.
Both players have been enjoying eye-catching breakthrough seasons, with Eala’s remarkable run to the last four of Miami propelling her into the spotlight, while Joint now boasts a hugely impressive 37 match wins so far this year.
It will be the youngest final at WTA Eastbourne since 1981, with two of the sport’s brightest young prospects competing for a title that, despite its recently reduced status from WTA 500 to 250, still holds a substantial amount of prestige and history as the last warm-up tournament before Wimbledon.
excellent joint too good for pavlyuchenkova
Today, Joint put in arguably her finest performance so far on the south coast. Having taken out Ons Jabeur, Emma Raducanu and Anna Blinkova en route to the last four, the world No 51 displayed striking composure and maturity to calmly take apart the well-honed game of former French Open finalist Pavlyuchenkova.
But it was the Russian who initially looked to have the momentum, surging into a 3-0 then 5-3 lead only to be pegged back twice by Joint who won four games in a row to clinch the first set.
The Australian then broke in the third game of the second set, before striking again in the ninth and final game to seal one of the most important wins of her young career.
With SW19 now just days away, both Joint and Eala have positioned themselves as accomplished grass-court contenders for the years to come.
Regardless of who wins in the final, Saturday’s showpiece already has the feel of a potentially seminal early meeting between two future stars of the sport.
