Since my first visit to Eastbourne in 2010, i’ve been to the tournament every year apart from the 2020 COVID cancelled year and 2025. I thought it was about time that I added a tournament guide to MTB for visiting the Eastbourne Open because it’s probably the tournament that I know the best. Read on for tips on buying tickets, travel to the venue, a review of the courts and facilities, and things to do in the local area.

Buying tickets 🎫

Tickets can be purchased for Eastbourne via the LTA ticketing website so you will need an LTA tickets account. If you have the LTA Advantage Fan + membership then you will have access to the pre-sale so take note of any e-mails from the LTA. Otherwise, you will be able to purchase tickets through the general sale which follows a week after the priority sale. For the 2026 tournament, the LTA sent out the first e-mail on the 8th January 2026. The pre-sale started on the 3rd February and general sale opened on 10th February. The tickets always seem to be released on a Tuesday at 10am.

If you’re looking for decent seats then you need to be reasonably prompt so I would recommend purchasing tickets as soon as possible. In March, there were tickets available for all days but there was limited availability and you could only get seats in the gods. The week before the 2026 tournament, Wednesday to Saturday was completely sold out.

Getting to and from the venue 🚃

The tournament is held at Devonshire Park in Eastbourne and the venue is one street from the coast. All travel options are shared on the LTA Eastbourne website. I always get the train down to Eastbourne which is well connected by Southern Rail services. There is a direct service from London Victoria to Eastbourne via Gatwick Airport which takes just over 90 minutes. It is worth checking trains before travelling as i’ve had issues with Southern Rail in the past. Even this year, I had to get a rail replacement bus heading home on the Sunday between Eastbourne and Polegate which was a pain in the arse.

Entering the grounds & what to take 🎒

There are various gates that you can enter Devonshire Park. If you’re coming from the train station then i’d recommend gate 5 on Blackwater Road or gate 7 on Hardwick Road. Gate 2 is on the other side of the grounds and the closest to the sea. I stay in Eastbourne towards the town centre and always use gate 5 on Hardwick Road which tends to be quietest. I normally arrive when gates open at 10am. There’s often a queue forming but I have not had to wait more than 10 minutes to get in before.

There is a rather rigorous bag check which is much more thorough than the other LTA tournaments and even Wimbledon – not sure why at sleepy Eastbourne. There are no restrictions on taking food and drink – I took lots of food and a filled water bottle. They always ask me to take a sip from my drinks bottle as if it’s filled with vodka. The general rule on cameras for the LTA tournaments is that any lenses less than 300mm are fine. I’ve never had any problems at the LTA tournaments. The full list of prohibited items can be found on the LTA website.

The courts 🌱

There are six match courts and six practice courts which are all accessible to the public.

Centre Court

It’s been a while since i’ve sat on Centre Court as I tend to just go for the qualifying weekend when Centre Court is not in use (Note – they were advertising player practice sessions on Centre Court for the Sunday of qualifying this year). My main memories are the swooping seagulls, the sea breeze and the flagpoles behind the court knocking in the wind. The seats and legroom are standard and nothing special so more like Nottingham and not as good as Queens or Wimbledon.

The South stand is a temporary stand and the largest of the four with over 30 rows. You can feel quite far from the action high up in the gods which is where I had tickets in the crazy COVID year of 2021. The North stand is permanent and has 16 rows. I don’t think there is a bad view from the North stand. I quite like the triangular section next to the West stand where you get a nice angle to the court.

If you want to avoid the sun then the West stand goes into shade first. Note that the wind can be brutal in Eastbourne and i’ve spent many times regretting my life decisions at turning up in a t-shirt so it’s advisable to bring a jacket if you’re planning to stay into the evening. The East stand will be in sun all day. Front few rows of the East stand are fun to watch from.

Court 1

Court 1 is my favourite court at Eastbourne and I have so many great memories from watching tennis on this court. Unfortunately this court is all reserved seating so you need a designated Court 1 ticket to watch main draw action on Monday to Thursday. Court 1 is unreserved for the qualifying weekend and the final two days of the tournament.

The East stand is funky and is part of the Centre Court structure so you enter from underneath the West stand of Centre Court. The player box seats are at either end of the East stand and I always tend to sit near them so you can listen to the player-coach interactions. They can also be good places to get pictures as the players will often celebrate towards their teams. Not much to say about West stand which is a temporary stand on the umpire’s side. I prefer the other two sides to watch.

The North stand is simply two rows of seats behind the court. I love these seats and you feel so close to the action and get a great perspective. You also need to duck on occasion from a booming serve. If you don’t have Court 1 tickets then there are three entrances behind the North stand where you can stand and look in. It can get busy on the walkway behind the court but you can normally find a safe place to stand and watch.

You can get some gorgeous light on Court 1 in the late evening. Some of my favourite ever tennis pictures have come from this court.

Court 2

Court 2 is now all unreserved seating and any ticket including a ground pass will allow you access to this court. This was not the case a few years ago 😡. There are two temporary stands of seats on the West and South sides. I like the seats in the South stand as I generally prefer watching tennis from behind the players with essentially the TV view. Player boxes seem to be in the South stand in the front row – I sat next to Sofia Kenin’s dad this year which was an experience. You get a nice view from the South stand across the grounds towards Centre Court and Court 1. The West stand is pretty standard – you feel a bit further back from the action although it does come into shade earlier than the South stand. It’s a shame that you cannot look into the court from the other sides as there are fences up.

Courts 4 and 5

Courts 4 and 5 are identical with no stands for sitting. The courts used to be lined with pull-up chairs by the side of the court (an Eastbourne tradition!) but these have now been replaced by benches. There’s also space to stand and watch from behind the benches. You can normally find a space to stand with an unobstructed view unless it’s a long match. There is a walkway between the courts and you can walk freely at all times although be mindful if play is ongoing.

These courts are similar to the outside courts at the southern end of Wimbledon where most people will stand to watch. Some of my favourite memories from Eastbourne have come from watching tennis on these courts and i’d recommend watching a match here if you visit Eastbourne. You pick up so much from being close to the action.

Court 12

This is the newest of the match courts introduced in 2022 (?) – Jelena Jankovic would definitely say this was in the car park. There’s only one side that you can watch from. Like courts 4 and 5, there are benches by the court surrounded by white fencing. I saw ticket holders sitting on the benches but it’s not entirely clear that you can sit on the benches and the white fences make it seem off-limits for those with credentials.

It’s quite spacious round here so you shouldn’t have a problem at least standing behind the white fences. Court 12 is somewhat hidden so it tends to be quieter. I’ve also watched a lot of players practice on this court before action starts at 11am or if Court 12 is not operating as a match court on a particular day. I’ve seen the likes of Pegula, Raducanu and Boulter practising here and without much of a crowd (at least at the start of the session before word spreads around the grounds).

Practice courts

There are a block of four practice courts in the centre of the grounds behind the South stand of Centre Court. This is always my first port of call when I arrive at Devonshire Park to see who is practising. It’s great for watching but not the best for taking photos as there is black netting up behind the courts. This is necessary and I would have taken some blows to the body if the netting wasn’t there.

You can get a nice view across all four practice courts if you stand adjacent to Court 5. There are also benches lined along the practice court furthest West. You can also get the view across all four practice courts (without black netting) from the other end next to Court 12. There is an area surrounded by white fences where players tend to warm up. You have to stand rather far back (there is normally security here to stop you going into the white fenced area) but it’s still a good place for spotting players.

There are two further practice courts behind the block of four, next to Court 12 and the Fan Village. For both practice courts, there is one side of the court where you can watch. I often do circuits around the six practice courts on the hour to see who is practising. For the practice court next to the Fan Village, the area to watch has reduced by half as there was a Lexus stand and car in the way (that will be going on the feedback form). They have also increased the fenced off area for players by the entrance to this court so you cannot get as close as you used to. These two practice courts are still better than the four described above as there is no netting in the way so they are decent for taking pictures. I was often the only person watching on Saturday this year.

Grounds and facilities 🏟️

Devonshire Park is my favourite venue of the LTA tournaments. It’s reasonably spacious and only tends to get busy when the Centre Court empties out after a match. There are plenty of places to sit with picnic tables surrounding the South Stand on both sides. There’s also a line of deckchairs by the TV screens and plenty of benches around the grounds. You can also sit on the stone wall surrounding Court 12.

Toilet facilities are poor at Eastbourne. There are a couple of blocks of toilets between Court 1 and Court 2, and there are some portable ones in the car park next to the West stand of Court 1. There are also toilets in the East and West stands of Centre Court although I imagine you need a Centre Court ticket to access them. I always put it on the feedback form but have not seen any change since I started going.

There isn’t a great deal of cover for when it rains other than inside the West Stand building of Centre Court or huddled under an entrance in the South Stand. All the picnic tables have umbrellas so that can also be a place to hide from the rain. You get some weird weather in Eastbourne being close to the sea – I remember one year play was delayed for an hour or two due to sea mist.

There are several BRITA water refill areas although I didn’t see as many as at Queens. There’s two stations by the East stand of Centre Court and more by the toilets next to Court 2. As always, it’s worth timing filling up your water bottle when Centre Court isn’t about to empty out after a match finishes. The pressure was better than at Queens.

The site map for Devonshire Park can be found below. Note that you can walk all the way around the practice courts and Court 12. It feels like you shouldn’t be round by Court 12 but you are allowed!

Food and drink 🍔

I always tend to bring my own food and drink because it’s often very expensive at tournaments and you end up spending a lot of time in queues. Therefore, I can’t really comment on the options at Eastbourne. All of the food and drink menus for Eastbourne can be found on the website here. Most of the food and drink options can be found around the South Stand of Centre Court. There is an ice cream van which I have been to in the past and in 2026, this had moved close to the big screen and been displaced by a FAGE greek yoghurt stand at the corner of Court 2.

Restaurants 🍴

I always stay over in Eastbourne so have found a few places to eat over the years. As you would expect, there are lots of good fish and chip shops on the seafront. It took me years to build up the confidence to eat out alone and even now it’s uncomfortable and I think everyone is staring at me I just do it anyway. I like Bistrot Pierre which is a French chain restaurant next to the Wish Tower on the seafront. It’s a big place so you can melt into the background. I also like Rossis which is an excellent Italian restaurant and very reasonably priced. It’s a small place but worth it – they do a smashing chocolate cake (I only care about desserts).

For baked goods, I would recommend To the Rise Bakery which is on Terminus Road, one street in from the coast and close the pier. They do the most amazing cinnamon buns 🤤.

Things to do in Eastbourne ⛱️

I love a stroll along the seafront where there is always something going on and you can often spot a player or two. If you like your walking then there are some stunning walks along this coastline. If you head West along King Edward’s Parade you’ll find lots of paths heading up to Beachy Head. If you fancy a proper hike then i’d recommend getting the train to Seaford and then walk back to Eastbourne – it’s a challenging walk up and down across the Seven Sisters but the views are spectacular.

Final thoughts 🤔

Eastbourne will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s changed a lot over the years since my first visit in 2010 and many of the changes have not exactly been for the better. However, I still love coming back for a weekend in Eastbourne and watching tennis by the sea. If you’ve never been to Eastbourne then I would recommend going once in your lifetime!

If you have any questions about the women’s tournament at Eastbourne then i’d be more than happy to help. Please leave a comment or e-mail MooTennisBlog@gmail.com