Preview 2024 Eastbourne International Women's Final: Kasatkina and Fernandez set for title clash

Daria Kasatkina (No. 14) and Leylah Fernandez (No. 30) will battle for their first title of the year in the WTA 500 Eastbourne International final. The head-to-head favors Kasatkina with two victories in their previous encounters, both in 2022.

The Russian player is competing in her fourth final of the season as she continues to strive for a title. Despite her consistency on the Tour, Kasatkina has struggled to clinch titles when opportunities have arisen. Against Fernandez, she will look to leverage her experience to her advantage against the Canadian.

The 26-year-old Russian secured consecutive wins against Chinese players Wang Xinyu (No. 40) by 6-4, 6-2, and Yue Yuan (No. 38) by 3-6, 6-4, 6-0. In the quarterfinals, she delivered a spectacular performance to sweep past former US Open champion Emma Raducanu (No. 168). In the semifinals, Kasatkina faced recent French Open finalist Jasmine Paolini (No. 7), who led their head-to-head 3-2. However, Kasatkina managed to come through a tough match, winning 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 to reach her fourth final of the season.

So far, she holds a 25-13 record this season but has endured five consecutive final losses, three of which occurred this year at the Adelaide International, Abu Dhabi Open, and Charleston Open.

Winning the title would position her well to secure a return to the top 10 at Wimbledon, as Vondrousova and Jabeur are set to drop behind Kasatkina due to their significant point defenses (title and runner-up) at the start of the tournament.

The Canadian returns to a WTA final for the first time since October 2023 in Hong Kong, where she claimed the title against Katerina Siniakova. Though she was on the verge of falling out of the top 100 a year ago, Fernandez has redirected her career and, at just 21 years old, has found stability in the upper ranks of the Tour.

Fernandez has hovered around the top 30 over the past year but was still missing a good run in a tournament this year. It came at an unexpected moment on the grass courts of Eastbourne, despite being more accustomed to hard and clay courts.

She began her journey with a tough win over 7th seed Barbora Krejcikova (No. 31) by 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. She then achieved straightforward victories against Ashlyn Krueger (No. 87) and Harriet Dart (No. 105), both by 6-2, 6-1. In the semifinals, she overcame 4th seed Madison Keys (No. 12) by 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, who was also the defending champion.