Lexus Ilkley Open 2025: Iva Jovic crowned women’s singles champion after dominant final

Jovic needed just 68 minutes as she blasted past the Canadian 6-1, 6-3 to become the latest women’s singles title winner in Ilkley.

This is the first WTA 125 title that Jovic has won in her career, adding to her impressive title at the W100 Charlottesville earlier this season.

One of the brightest rising stars in the women’s game, the young American has now won professional titles across all three surfaces – grass, clay and hard court.

Her latest win will see her catapult inside the WTA top 100 for the first time in her career next week.

“It feels pretty great, I’m just so happy to come out here and play a tonne of good matches,” Jovic said after the match.

“The first three rounds I played three sets and was almost eliminated but I was just trying to fight and figure it out. I think I found my game towards the end of the tournament.

“There’s not as much adjustment for me on the grass, I like how I’m able to naturally play on it. Clay is a bit more of an adjustment for me but here it’s more natural and hopefully I can keep the results coming.

“Hopefully I can make the main draw at Wimbledon, I’m super excited to play there.”

For Marino, it marks another special run in Ilkley, backing up her title win in 2024. While she wasn’t able to get her hands on the trophy again this time around, the Canadian was overall happy with her week on the grass.

“I think there’s something special about this place,” she said. “It’s the second year I’ve made the final and just like last year I’ve felt so much warmth and hospitality.

“For those who don’t know, my tennis story is atypical. I made it to top 40, took a five-year retirement and then came back to the sport and was able to reach the top 100. Any time I’m able to get on court and make finals like this I’m so appreciative because I didn’t think I’d have it again.”

Fresh off the back of her semi-final win over second seed Viktorija Golubic, Jovic got off to a dream start in the final up against the defending champion.

Marino came into the final on a nine-match winning streak at Ilkley but looked the more nervous of the two and made a lot of key errors through the opening stages – allowing Jovic to quickly seal the early double break.

The Canadian steadied the ship with a hold for 5-1 but it was a little too late to pull anything back in the first set with Jovic comfortably serving out it out to love after only 27 minutes.

Jovic picked up where she left off at the start of the second as well – another mis-fired forehand off the Marino gift-wrapping a 2-0- lead once again.

World No.107 Marino had chances to get herself back into contention with two break points to level at 2-2, but once again her groundstrokes let her down as frustration started to settle in. A first doubles fault from the Canadian on the following game, brought about a fourth break of the match and left Marino with a mountain to climb.

With the chance to serve it out at 5-2, Jovic showed her first signs of tightening up and gave Marino a glimmer of hope after a few costly mistakes handed back one of the breaks, but the American bounced straight back.

On the next game she found her rhythm again – latching on to a big backhand winner to set up championship point before Marino fired long in the following rally to wrap up a comprehensive win for the world No.115.

In the women’s doubles final yesterday, third seeds Isabelle Haverlag and Simona Waltert came away with the title.

They defeated Britain’s Eden Silva and Vitalia Diatchenko 6-1, 6-1 in just over an hour to clinch the trophy.

It marks Haverlag and Waltert’s first title together as a doubles duo and first either have won on grass.