This year’s women’s final will crown a brand new winner in Eastbourne, as last year’s runner-up Kasatkina will look to go one further against the in-form Fernandez. Neither player have won a title on the grass in their careers, so there's plenty at stake heading into the final showdown.

Fernandez, who's making her tournament debut in Eastbourne this year, has been a dominant force throughout the week – defeating the likes of Barbora Krejcikova, Alison Krueger, Harriet Dart and defending champion Madison Keys on her way to the championships match.

The 21-year-old has found her spark this grass court swing, having last week reached the quarter-finals at the Rothesay Classic Birmingham, and will be gunning to go all the way in tomorrow’s final.

Speaking on coming through her semi-final match against two-time champion Keys, Fernandez said, “I knew today was going to be tough, but the important part was the mental strength and I’m super happy my team was there being super positive and giving me the right instructions. The crowd were also super supportive, and it felt like you guys gave me strength so thank you.

“I’m enjoying it a lot (the grass court swing) it means a lot to me. At the moment we’re taking it one match at a time, we’re having some fun on court and off court – it’s good preparation for Wimbledon but now we’re just going to focus on the final that’s tomorrow."

The Canadian burst onto the WTA scene at the 2021 US Open, where she enjoyed a fairytale run to the final before being edged to the trophy by Britain’s Emma Raducanu. Three years later and the youngster has etched her name onto three tour-level titles and risen to a career-high ranking of world No.13 in 2022.

Her rock-solid mentality and determination to never give up has made her a tough opponent to break down in recent weeks, as displayed in her 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Keys this afternoon. With the fire in her belly to wrap her hands around a maiden title on the grass, Fernandez is set to pose a tough challenge for her final opponent.

However, Kasatkina knows all too well what it’s like to compete in a final at Devonshire Park, having been pipped to the trophy last year. The 27-year-old was forced to come back from a set down in her final four battle against Jasmine Poalini - eventually prevailing 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 and will be fired up to go all the way this year.

“It’s never easy to come to a tournament where you have to defend a lot of points so I’m really happy that I was able to play good, enjoy myself on court and find a way to come back into the match” Kasatkina said.

“Grass suits Leylah very well. It’s going to be tough, she’s in great form now and has beaten very good players this week and in the finals, everyone wants to win so I’ll go on try to enjoy myself and let’s see how this final is going to turn out.”

Tomorrow’s final will mark the fifth meeting between the two players, with the Russian leading the head-to-head 2-0, having earned wins on both a hard and clay court. Kasatkina has fallen short in her last five tour-level finals and will be desperate to snap her losing streak to make it second time lucky at Devonshire Park.

You can watch the women's final exclusively on BBC Sport and BBC digital channels. 

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