Kessler defeats Yastremska in Nottingham, claims second title of year
Neither a pair of rain delays nor a determined opponent could prevent McCartney Kessler from winning her third career WTA singles title at the Lexus Nottingham Open on Sunday.
In a championship clash between Top 50 players, Kessler of the United States defeated Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska 6-4, 7-5 to claim the WTA 250 grass-court title in England.
"I’m really excited to have gotten another title," Kessler said after her latest triumph. "I came up short in the last tournament, so I was really wanting to win the match today."
World No. 42 Kessler needed 1 hour and 34 minutes of play to prevail -- not including nearly two hours' worth of rain interruptions during the first set.
"We looked at the weather yesterday, we knew it was going to be windy, so that never means pretty tennis," Kessler said. "I knew that I just had to stay within myself, play with a lot of margin, and hope that that would be good enough."
Shooting up the rankings: Kessler's latest title continues the 25-year-old's incredible rise over the last year-and-a-half.
The University of Florida Gator started 2024 ranked outside the Top 200, but after titles at 2024 Cleveland, 2025 Hobart, and now this week in Nottingham, she is projected to make her Top 40 debut on Monday -- and could possibly be seeded at Wimbledon.
The result is even more impressive considering Kessler had never won a WTA main-draw match on grass before last week at Queen's Club. However, her grass-court skills haven't come totally out of the blue -- she won three matches to qualify for the Wimbledon main draw last year.
"I’ve always thought that I really would enjoy playing on grass, so it’s really nice and special to see that it’s actually true," Kessler said. "And I have so much fun doing it."
Strong performances all week: This week in Nottingham, Kessler served notice she was one to watch from the very first round, when she eliminated No. 1 seed and 2022 champion Beatriz Haddad Maia in a nearly-three-hour marathon.
Kessler then ended the 12-match Nottingham winning streak of two-time defending champion Katie Boulter in the quarterfinals, en route to her second title of the year and first title off of hard court.
World No. 46 Yastremska fell just short in the final, and after capturing three WTA singles titles as a teenager, she is 0-4 in finals since 2019. Nevertheless, the strong week extends the Ukrainian's solid form: she beat three seeded players to make her second final of the year (after WTA 500 Linz) and solidifies her spot in the Top 50.
Match moments: A 10-minute rain delay at 4-2 did not stop Kessler from taking a double-break lead in Sunday's first set. Yastremska clawed one break back before a gusty storm caused another rain delay that lasted about 90 minutes. Upon resumption, Kessler needed only two more points to take the set, and she grabbed them posthaste.
In the second set, sturdy returns by Kessler gave her the early edge, but there was still much more to come. At 5-3, Kessler had five championship points on Yastremska’s serve, but the Ukrainian came up with steely play to grind out the hold. The pendulum then swung in Yastremska’s direction, as she collected a love break to level the set at 5-5.
But Yastremska’s momentum was short-lived, as Kessler grabbed her own service break in the very next game and served for the title again. A backhand passing winner gave the American a sixth championship point, which she converted when Yastremska sent a service return wide.
Haddad Maia, Siegemund win doubles title: Beatriz Haddad Maia may have suffered an early loss to the eventual champion in singles, but she still leaves 2025 Nottingham as a titlist.
No. 3 seeds Haddad Maia and Laura Siegemund teamed up to win the doubles title, defeating No. 4 seeds Anna Danilina and Ena Shibahara 6-3, 6-2 in Sunday's 78-minute final.
Haddad Maia and Siegemund had reached two previous finals as a team (2023 Indian Wells and 2025 Adelaide) but this is their first team title. Overall, Siegemund now has won 16 WTA doubles titles, and Haddad Maia is up to eight.
