The WTA Eastbourne final could be one of the most intriguing of 2026. 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys will face former Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria for the title. We here at LWOT provide our prediction and analysis in this article, but which player do you expect to win?
WTA Eastbourne Final Prediction
Madison Keys vs Tatjana Maria
Head-to-head: Keys 3-1 Maria
Both women were very impressive in the previous rounds. Keys only dropped 14 games in seven sets (Petra Marcinko retired after one set of their semifinal). Maria did not lose a set in her opening three matches, including a victory over the 2024 Wimbledon runner-up Jasmine Paolini. The veteran German got some good fortune when Jelena Ostapenko, after taking the opening set 6-1, retired three games into the second set.
The overall head-to-head makes good reading for Keys. However, Maria’s sole triumph against the American was in the semifinal of her successful run to the title at the Queen’s Club last year. Throughout that match, Keys struggled to handle her crafty opponent’s slices from both wings and never looked settled throughout the contest. That experience guarantees that she will not take the 38-year-old’s challenge lightly.
Nonetheless, I do think Keys will avenge that defeat here. It is challenging for anyone outside of the very best players to stop the Australian Open winner when she gets on a roll, and her performances in the previous rounds prove she is in that place right now. Maria will hope that her unique playing style can counter that and disrupt the momentum Keys has built, but I do not expect that to happen.
This will probably be more competitive than Keys’s previous matches at WTA Eastbourne, and Maria nearly always produces at least a few moments that delight the crowd. Overall, though, I feel Keys will lift the title after a straight-sets win.
Prediction: Keys in 2
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane – Imagn Images
