COMING off her clay court campaign, Alex Eala’s debut on grass ended sooner than hoped, as the Filipina tennis standout and Spanish Rebeka Masarova exited early from the WTA 125 Lexus Birmingham Open.
In the doubles tournament’s Round of 16, Eala and Masarova put up a determined fight but were ousted in straight sets, 4-6, 4-6, by the tournament’s second seeds, Ellen Perez and Storm Hunter.
It somehow mirrored her recent outing at Roland Garros, where the Philippines’ young star also made an early exit with Mexican partner Renata Zarazúa.
In the second round of the women’s doubles, the 20-year-old Filipina and her partner suffered a one-sided defeat to Russia’s Anastasia Potapova and Serbia’s Olga Danilović, 1-6, 3-6, ending her notable run.
Time To Shine
Eala’s campaign in Great Britain rolls on as she now shifts focus to her singles journey. The Filipina, ranked World No. 73, enters the draw as the tournament’s third seed.
She’s set to take on a familiar foe in Linda Fruhvirtova, ranked No. 152. While this marks their first encounter at the pro level, the two 20-year-olds have faced off twice in juniors, splitting their meetings 1-1.
After her fairytale run at the 2025 Miami Open—where she defeated Grand Slam champions and higher seeds—Eala has stayed relatively quiet. Nevertheless, she knows the value of pushing forward through all circumstances.
“I think I have done a good job and my team have done a good job of dealing with everything that happened after Miami,” Eala told Tennis 365 in an interview.
“So many things changed and my perspective has changed since Miami, but my day-to-day life is the same. I have the same work ethic and the same attention to detail,” she added.
Aware of how significant her wins in Miami were, Eala gained the confidence she needs for the rest of her packed tennis schedule. It hasn’t quite led to more major triumphs yet, but it still marks meaningful progress.
“What happened in Miami was definitely a big surprise for me. It’s difficult because I try not to look at it as a big picture thing, as that tournament progressed,” she said.
“I didn’t even look at the draw. I just went match by match because you don’t know how far you are going to get and every round there was another big obstacle.”
“For sure, it gave me a lot of confidence to know that my level is there to play against the top players, but I know there is a lot more for me to do before i can be there consistently,” she added.
Meanwhile, Eala is sharpening her game ahead of Wimbledon later this month, where she will make her debut in the main draw of the women’s singles. In 2024, she advanced to the third round of qualifying at Wimbledon.
