Eastbourne Open tennis venue vandalised
The leader of the local council called it "outrageous" and "mindless"
Last updated 20 hours ago
Devonshire Park, home to the Lexus Eastbourne Open tennis tournament, has been vandalised, according to the town hall chief.
Eastbourne Borough Council teams found extensive damage across several grass courts yesterday (15th May), ahead of the championships which are set to begin in just over a month.
Council leader Stephen Holt said: "This is an outrageous act of mindless vandalism that shows total disregard for our town, our residents, and the global sporting event we are proud to host each year.
“Devonshire Park is one of Eastbourne’s greatest assets, and the council’s dedicated team have been working tirelessly to prepare the courts for the international tournament. For anyone to deliberately sabotage that work is utterly disgraceful.”
The tournament is often considered a warm-up for the Wimbledon Championships, which start a week later.
Stars such as the 2025 Australian Open winner Madison Keys and Britain's Sonay Kartal are set to compete.
Keys is looking to complete a hat-trick of Eastbourne titles after winning the competition in 2014 and 2023.
In response to the damage, the council is bolstering security measuring and working with Sussex Police.
Holt said: “We will do everything possible to support the police in identifying those responsible – it is criminal damage that could have disrupted a major sporting event.
“However, despite this setback our brilliant team at Devonshire Park are working to ensure the courts are handed over to the LTA (Lawn Tennis Association), ready for the world class tennis that we’re all looking forward to.”