Tennis greats compete at Eastbourne's 50th tournament

The event started on Saturday

Top names are competing in Eastbourne international tennis tournament's 50th event this year.

Players include world number four and former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, world number five Jessica Pegula, and 2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu.

However, despite the annual festivities on the south coast, which started on Saturday, there is the knowledge that the women's tournament will be downgraded next year.

Speaking to BBC Radio Sussex, tennis correspondent Russell Fuller said: "The calibre of entrants is likely to drop. The question I have though is how much difference will that make to people?"

Emma Raducanu won the US Open in 2021

In May, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) made the announcement that from 2025 the event at Devonshire Park would still host a combined men's and women's event, but there would be greater limitations on who could enter, including the number of top-ranked players.

The downgrade is as a result of the LTA achieving its aim of staging a women's tournament at Queen's Club, in west London, in the first week of the grass court season.

The men's tournament in Eastbourne will remain unchanged.

Concerns had been raised by people in the town before the downgrade was officially announced.

Christina Ewbank is Eastbourne Chamber of Commerce's chief executive

On BBC Radio Sussex, Eastbourne Chamber of Commerce's chief executive Christina Ewbank said that she thought the event would "look and feel exactly the same year on year" and the investment would be "just about the same".

She added that she did not think attendances would drop if fewer high profile players competed.

"It's a delight coming here," she said. "It's such a pleasure to come and have strawberries and cream here, and a Pimm's or a glass of champagne, and watch the tennis in a really relaxed and informal environment."

The tournament runs until 29 June.