McCartney Kessler wins Nottingham title, earns Wimbledon seed
American McCartney Kessler continued her impressive rise on the WTA Tour with an unseeded title run in Nottingham, claiming her third career WTA singles trophy on Sunday with a 6-4, 7-5 win against Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska. The former Florida Gator also knocked out top seed Beatriz Haddad Maia and two-time defending champ Katie Boulter en route to her first grass-court crown.
The title run moved Kessler, who will turn 26 on July 8, up to a career high of world No. 32, putting her in position to be seeded at both Wimbledon and the 2025 US Open.
It's a family affair
Kessler was introduced to tennis at a young age by her parents, Julie and Carl, who both played college tennis at the University of Central Florida. Her brother, McClain Kessler, played college tennis for the University of Florida (under Bryan Shelton) and now serves as McCartney's coach on the WTA Tour.
Kessler also met her husband, Zach, through family connections. The couple got married in December in Chattanooga, Tenn., and honeymooned in Cabo ahead of the 2025 season.
Five seasons at Florida
Kessler competed from 2017-2022 at the University of Florida, where she was named SEC Player of the Year in her final season and earned All-American honors in 2021 and 2022. She joins Emma Navarro (Virginia), Peyton Stearns (Texas) and Danielle Collins (Virginia) among elite Americans who thrived and developed their games at the college level before succeeding on the WTA Tour.
McCartney Kessler poses with her 2025 Nottingham singles trophy. Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images for LTA.
Sophomore season
Having made her WTA Tour debut in January 2024, Kessler is only in her second year at the game's top level. She made her first Grand Slam appearance last year in Melbourne by winning the USTA's Australian Open Wild Card Challenge and reached the second round.
In her US Open debut as a wild card last summer, she was beaten by 19th seed Marta Kostyuk. Thanks to her titles this season in Hobart and Nottingham, and a runner-up finish in Austin (l. to Pegula), Kessler will likely be seeded this August at her home Grand Slam and avoid a highly ranked opponent in the opening round.
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