Madison Keys kickstarted her bid for a third Eastbourne Open title with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Talia Gibson in the first round on Tuesday.

After watching top seed Jasmine Paolini fall at the first hurdle versus Tatjana Maria in the day's first match, Keys – who is seeded second – avoided a similar fate.

She will face Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the round of 16, having come through a good test in just over an hour-and-a-half.

Keys could have lost her way when, after getting the first break of the encounter five games into the opening set, she immediately lost her next service game to love.

But the former Australian Open champion dusted herself down to break again at the very next attempt, and she later secured the opening set with a booming love hold.

A break in the opening game of the second gave Keys the advantage again, and that was to be the only one in the set, with Gibson missing three opportunities to get it back on serve.

Keys wasted one match point against the serve, but she would not be denied with the ball in hand as she booked her spot in the next round.

Keys hopeful of Eastbourne hat-trick after first-round win

Keys is yet to reach a WTA Tour final in 2026, but she improved her record for the year to 18-9 on Tuesday, at a venue where she tends to excel.

The American won the Eastbourne title in both 2014 (defeating Angelique Kerber in the final) and 2023 (beating Daria Kasatkina). 

And with Paolini already out on the other side of the draw, the 31-year-old should be confident about her prospects of making it a hat-trick and building momentum going into Wimbledon.

“I’ve always loved grass. It’s doesn’t always love me back.”#BTO26 pic.twitter.com/yJOl9W0WQX

— wta (@WTA) June 18, 2026

Keys is now 55-20 on grass throughout her career, and it was her service game that made the difference against Gibson. 

She fired in seven aces to her opponent's one, while also watching Gibson double-fault on eight occasions. Overall, Keys won 71% (40/56) of her points on serve, compared to Gibson's 55% (42/76).