Last year, Alex Eala fell to Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova in the first round of Wimbledon. She put up a good fight, pushing the then-tournament defending champion to three sets. Still, for her Wimbledon debut, bowing out after the first match wasn’t exactly something worth writing home about.
For Eala’s second go-around, it was clear from the get-go that she wasn’t settling for a similar result. Instead, she dominated her first match-up, defeating world No. 75 Renata Zarazua of Mexico, 6-1, 6-2, to advance to the second round.
“I think that I played really well and kept the intensity throughout the whole match, so I’m hoping to keep this momentum going throughout the week,” shared Eala after the match, reflecting on her performance against Zarazua.
According to the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) website, this victory marks Eala’s second time reaching the second round of any Grand Slam. She managed to reach the second round of the 2025 US Open but “lost in the opening round of her other four Grand Slam appearances,” the site reads.
Eala is the first Filipina to be seeded in a Grand Slam singles draw, entering as the No. 29 seed. She is also the first to win a Wimbledon singles match in the “Open Era” (Felicisimo Ampon and Raymundo Dero previously won Wimbledon singles before the “Open Era”).
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No Williams head-to-head?
Bracket watchers were undoubtedly looking forward to an Eala-Serena Williams matchup in the second round. However, 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint had other ideas, overcoming Williams in three sets, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3.
Joint, who is ranked 87th in the world, was also the winner of last year’s Eastbourne Open, whom Eala lost to in the final.
“I had a really great match with Maya last year, so I’d love to have the chance to improve on some things that I could have improved from that match,” Eala shared with WTA.
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Ready for the big stage
Eala’s early showing at Wimbledon follows a successful tune-up leading to the Grand Slam tournament.
Currently ranked 32nd in the world, Eala is coming off a respectable campaign at the Berlin Tennis Open, where she reached the semifinals, losing to world No. 12 Linda Noskova.
She notably defeated world No. 2 Elena Rybakina in the round of 16 as well as world No. 8 Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals.
