American tennis player Madison Keys secured her third Eastbourne title on Saturday, defeating Germany's Tatjana Maria 7-5, 6-4 on the English south coast.
The second-seeded Keys overcame sweltering temperatures to beat the world No. 112 in 93 minutes, building momentum ahead of Wimbledon.
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First Title Since Australian Open
The victory marks the 31-year-old's first title since winning her maiden Grand Slam crown at the Australian Open last year.
Keys has now joined Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova in an illustrious group of three-time champions on the Eastbourne grass.
The win also avenged a semifinal loss to Maria on grass at the Queen's Club last year.
Keys controlled the match against the 38-year-old Maria, facing only a single break point during the contest.
She won her first WTA title at Eastbourne 12 years ago and a second in 2023.
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This victory marks her 11th title on the women's tour in her 16th career final appearance.
Keys will face compatriot Kayla Day in the first round of Wimbledon on Tuesday, aiming to advance beyond her career-best quarterfinal finish at the All England Club.
In a separate tournament development, Naomi Osaka suffered a setback in her Wimbledon preparations after retiring from the Bad Homburg Open final in Germany due to a foot injury.
The fourth-seeded Japanese player was trailing Karolina Muchova 6-1, 1-0 when she withdrew from the match.
Osaka took a medical timeout during the opening set before gesturing that she could not continue playing.
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The 14th seed at Wimbledon is scheduled to face Elsa Jacquemot in the first round.
