EASTBOURNE CLUB NEWS & NOTES
*It’s a last gasp to build form before Wimbledon as the ATP Tour hits Eastbourne this week. Eastbourne has served as a lucky charm in recent times. Five of the last six Eastbourne champions have made at least the semifinals at Wimbledon with four of those being finalists. Of those four, three have won the coveted grass titles at the All-England Club following their Eastbourne success. Cash-Glasspool, the defending champions here, did that trick last year!
*Cash-Glasspool won here a year ago as the three seeds. The Brits beat unseeded pair Behar-Vliegen 6-4, 7-6(5) as 1.40 (-250) favorites. The last underdogs to win the title match in Eastbourne were Bambridge-O’Mara in 2018. They also still stand as the last unseeded pair to win these titles. Behar-Vliegen were one of just three unseeded pairs to make the final since 2018, so seeds have ruled the roost.
*The straight sets finish in the 2025 Eastbourne Open final marked the fourth time in the last five runs that the championship match has gone down in two sets. Super tie break finishes were a bit scarce last year with only four of the 15 matches needing the extra frame. Two of those came in round one with one more in the quarters and the other in the semis. Prior to 2025, there had been at least five super tie break finishes per season at Eastbourne since 2022. If you’re focused on finding the STBs, check out the semifinals where eight of the last 12 have needed a super tie break.
*Even with the seeded success, you can expect at least one unseeded pair to weave its way into the final four. 2019 was the last time that seeds made up the entire semifinal field. I’ll focus more on the “Unseeded Menaces” to monitor in this year’s draw in just a minute. There are definitely a few who could join that club and make the run to the business end in Eastbourne in 2026.
*Cash-Glasspool lead the field this year with the defending champions really looking to find their best, something that has eluded them a bit in 2026. The Brits did make the semifinals at Queen’s Club, but that’s already the same number of losses they had in their astounding grass swing in 2025 where they went 17-1 with three titles. Harrison-Skupski come in as the two seeds, also off a semifinal showing in London this past week. That marked just their second semifinal since winning the Australian Open back in January. Andreozzi-Guinard and Nys/Roger-Vasselin round out the seeded field.
So who are the unseeded duos who could make a big push this week? There’s a few to watch, especially with the back end of the seeded field perhaps not being quite in the kind of form that would see them expected to advance far in 2026.6.20
Jebens-Vocel
Just a hunch here as they will be playing just their second tournament together. They do start with Nys/Roger-Vasselin, but that pair has not been able to find consistency in 2026. They dropped their opener on grass at Queen’s Club last week, so they could be ripe for another upset. Jebens-Vocel got their feet wet on grass at the Nottingham Challenger, splitting two matches. Their loss went down 7-6, 7-6, so I think you can expect them to be in that opener with an upset potentially springing them into contention.
Stevenson-Willis
Speaking of Nys/Roger-Vasselin losing at Queen’s Club, these are the Brits who did it for a second straight year. They get another wildcard entry this week and the alarm should be sounded for all seeds after they took a rare set of Heliovaara-Patten last week in London. They’re 5-1 on grass this swing and look dangerous. They lost their opener here a year ago in a super tie break, so they’re going to be competitive win or lose.
Bhambri-Venus
They’re in a bit more open quarter this week after losing to Arevalo-Pavic last week in the Queen’s Club quarterfinals. They may struggle to match up against the top tier teams, but with Andreozzi-Guinard in their quarter as the seeds, they could have a shot to be a bit of a dark horse with the seeds still learning on grass.
Ho-Oberleitner
If there’s a lightning-in-a-bottle pair, this could be it. They played twice together in 2025 and won two titles on Challenger hard courts. They’re also in the Andreozzi-Guinard quarter where they match up against the three seeds to start. It’s boom or bust certainly, but Andreozzi-Guinard have been up and down at times, including an opener loss on a tough spot versus Heliovaara-Patten last week in their first-ever grass court match together.
ONE AND DONE WATCH
Even though seeds have largely run the show in Eastbourne the last five to six years, that doesn’t mean they haven’t been prone to an early exit. Four of the last five years, at least one seed has lost their opener. Here’s a look at the seeds who could join that list.
(3)Andreozzi-Guinard
As much as I like what this pair has done in 2026, grass is a newer surface for them. They played their first grass match together last week and they’re a combined 3-13 in their careers on grass separately. I outlined Ho-Oberleitner’s brief history together in 2025 and the success they found, so I do believe there is an opportunity here for the unseeded pair to emerge victorious.
(4)Nys/Roger-Vasselin
It’s been a tough season for this pair as they stand at 14-15 after last week’s opening loss at Queen’s Club. That marked their 8th opening loss out of 15 tournaments played this year. They draw Jebens-Vocel, who are limited in their experience together and lack much success on grass, but do look the part of a tough draw after winning in Nottingham last week and looking competitive in a loss. Given the crisis in confidence for the seeds, I believe this match will be close.
DRAW PREVIEW
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TOP HALF
Will the real Cash-Glasspool please stand up? Or have they? Granted, a semifinal run at Queen’s Club last week isn’t a poor result, but given their banner 2025, we’ve been expecting more all season. They have made three finals and won a title in Barcelona on clay, but they feel like a pair that could use a title run as a big confidence boost. Given that they’re the defending champs here and next week in Wimbledon, there’s no time like the present. This first quarter sets up reasonably well for them with singles Cerundolo-Ugo Carabelli up first, so that’s a must win. The match opposite this could be a low-key banger with British wildcards Jones-Paris looking tough on grass. They won the Birmingham Challenger to start the swing, but have dropped two since then. They’ll be opposed by Johnson-Zielinski who paired for the first time since Madrid last week in London. They split two matches and that’s been their season, right at .500 (12-12). I think Jones-Paris are a compelling watch this week, but Cash-Glasspool really should get through this quarter.
The second quarter houses (4)Nys/Roger-Vasselin. They’ll start with Jebens-Vocel and that I think will be a good test, especially considering the struggles of the seeds in 2026. The pair that will be one that really needs a “W” this week is Ram-Salisbury. They’re up against Atmane-Sanchez in the other round one match in this quarter. The four-time Grand Slam champions reunited last week in Queen’s Club for the first time since 2024 and lost to Arevalo-Pavic 7-6, 6-1. This is a better opportunity to gain trust and confidence against their French competition who have never paired together. I think expectations are still fairly low for Ram-Salisbury with their last season on grass together in 2024 ending at 2-3 that included a retirement in their Eastbourne opener that year. This quarter looks wide open to me, so I would not count these two out if they can get on the board with that early win. None of the pairs in this section scream out as true favorites.
TOP HALF FORECAST
For me, this half is all about Cash-Glasspool. The top seeds have no excuses with this draw to not have themselves in position to defend their titles. They have only played Nys/Roger-Vasselin once, beating them 14-12 in a super tie break on clay, a surface that I think favors that pair more. So even if it is seed versus seed, grass should benefit the Brits. I think the second quarter looks like a breeding ground for a potential unseeded runner into the semifinals. Ram-Salisbury or Jebens-Vocel are the key players I think for that to happen. Nys/Roger-Vasselin did have a nice go on grass in 2025, culminating in a quarterfinal run at Wimbledon. Perhaps they elevate their game this week, but it’s hard to trust them with such wishy-washy results this year.
SEMIFINAL PIX: (1)Cash-Glasspool vs Ram-Salisbury
BOTTOM HALF
The third quarter, like the second, looks like it could go any which way. The seeds are Andreozzi-Guinard, but as I outlined early on, they do not have much in the way of grass court success individually or together with just the one match. They battle Ho-Oberleitner first and given the lack of success for the seeds, they could be a lively underdog try in round one. The survivor advances to see either Bhambri-Venus or Etcheverry-Tirante. The two Argentinians better known for singles do have some experience in doubles going 5-5, but none have come on grass. In fact, this is Tirante’s first dubs action on grass, while Etcheverry carries a career record of 0-8 on the slick stuff. It’d be a massive upset for a pair of vets like Bhambri-Venus to drop this one. Bhambri-Venus showed enough last week in splitting matches that I still really like their chances of being unseeded menaces this week. With this quarter so open, they definitely have a shot.
The final quarter sees Harrison-Skupski looking to build on a solid showing at Queen’s Club. They made it to the semifinals and took a set from Heliovaara-Patten before falling 10-3 in the super tie break. They face Frenchmen Doumbia-Reymond who are pairing for the first time, so that should work in the Australian Open champs’ favor. The match on the other side of the quarter sees dangerous Brits Stevenson-Willis battling Luz-Matos. The Brazilians have cooled off after a solid first four months. They’ve lost seven of nine, including six of their last seven tournaments ending with an opening loss. This may well add to that tally with the Brits playing very well last week at Queen’s Club. They could be a menace and definitely on home soil could unseat Harrison-Skupski in this quarter, so keep an eye on the wildcards.
BOTTOM HALF FORECAST
This bottom half could definitely produce a few surprises. Even with Harrison-Skupski showing well last week at Queen’s Club, they may have the more perilous path due to the unseeded menaces in this half. Stevenson-Willis and Bhambri-Venus are the ones to watch. Ho-Oberleitner would be the deep, dartboard shots, but having not played on grass together it’s an uphill battle for them. Truly the only surprise for me in this half would be to see seed versus seed in the semifinals.
SEMIFINAL PIX: Bhambri-Venus vs (2)Harrison-Skupski
The luck that quite a few teams have found off winning in Eastbourne should have pairs fully motivated and engaged in this final prep week for Wimbledon. I think this is a hugely important tournament for Cash-Glasspool who have looked much more vulnerable in 2026 on all surfaces and would do well to re-establish some grass court dominance prior to a trip to the All-England Club. Harrison-Skupski may have some tough teams in their way, but they also could have the inside track to a championship if Cash-Glasspool falter. And what of Ram-Salisbury? I predicted a semifinal showing although that is still up-in-the-air as they try to recapture their best chemistry. Still, this would be an opportune time to find it and you can’t look at any team in this field and say that they can’t be beaten. This should be a fascinating week to watch unfold with Wimbledon on the horizon.
Harrison-Skupski
Cash-Glasspool
Bhambri-Venus
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