Lexus Eastbourne Open 2026: Harriet Dart & Alicia Dudeney bow out in opening round
• 2 minute read
It wasn’t to be for the Brits at the Lexus Eastbourne Open WTA 250 event as wild cards Harriet Dart and Alicia Dudeney lost in the first round.
Dart served for the match in the decider, but a late comeback from Zeynep Sonmez saw the Tunisian edge a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory to reach the second round.
The 29-year-old was making her 10th appearance in Eastbourne and was hoping to surpass her career-best run of the quarter-finals that she achieved in 2022 and 2024.
Competing in her first match since being crowned Lexus Nottingham Open doubles champion with Maia Lumsden, Dart made a convincing start - taking the opening set inside an hour.
However, the world No.54 surged through the second set - breaking the world No.151 three times on her way to levelling the match to a set apiece.
The pair tussled for momentum in the decider, exchanging seven breaks of serve before Dart brought up the opportunity to serve for the match at 5-3. Another twist saw Sonmez level once again as she broke to 15 before winning three games on the bounce to steal the win from Dart's grasp.
Meanwhile, wild card Dudeney lost out on her Eastbourne debut in a career-first meeting against Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
The 23-year-old was bidding to clinch her first WTA main draw win but lost out 6-0, 6-3 on Court 2.
Dudeney last played at Devonshire Park in 2022 where she lost out to recent HSBC Championships winner Donna Vekic in the qualifying rounds.
The Briton struggled behind on serve, landing just 46% of her first serves in and the Spaniard capitalised - winning 78% of points on the second serve return (21/27).
Dudeney showed her fight to come back from an early break down in the second and draw level at 2-2 before backing up the break with a hold to love. However, Bouzas Maneiro continued to apply the pressure on the return and was rewarded with a double break as she reeled off the last four games in a row to seal victory.
Despite the loss, Dudeney will now turn her focus to next week’s Wimbledon, where she’s set to make her Grand Slam main draw debut.
The Brit received a wild card off the back of an impressive season that has seen her seal four singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Tour - leading her to a career-high ranking of world No.208.
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