Alexandra Eala is preparing for her first clay tournament of the 2026 season, with the Linz Open about to get underway.
And Eala has already learned of her first opponent for the WTA 500 tournament in Austria, where she will meet Julia Grabher.
A victory will set up a blockbuster meeting with former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, who is the fourth seed at the Linz Open.
World number 45 Eala enters the tournament with a 14-8 record for the 2026 WTA season, still chasing her maiden career title.
But the Filipina superstar must now switch her focus to clay, on which she holds an intriguing career record at every level, including qualifiers.
Alexandra Eala will finish 2026 ranked — in the world
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Alexandra Eala’s career record on clay
Eala last played on clay at the 2025 French Open, where she lost her opening match to Emiliana Arango in her debut at the Grand Slam.
She played four clay-court tournaments in total last year, winning twice and losing four times.
In 2024, Eala played six tournaments on the surface, the most she has played in a single season.
That year she won three of her nine matches, losing the other six.
In 2023 she failed to win any of her three matches across three tournaments, having gone through 2022 with a 1-2 record from her two events.
Such shortcomings were somewhat surprising after her 5-4 record in 2021, while she also won four matches on clay in 2020, as well as losing four.
| Year | Wins | Losses | Tournaments |
| 2025 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| 2024 | 3 | 6 | 6 |
| 2023 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 2022 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 2021 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| 2020 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
Mirra Andreeva and Paula Badosa join Alexandra Eala at the Linz Open
The clay-court swing is now officially underway on the WTA Tour, having started with events in Charleston and Bogota.
But the attention soon turns to the Linz Open, where Eala is joined by fellow superstar Mirra Andreeva, the top seed.
Defending champion Ekaterina Alexandrova has also committed to the event, along with 2024 champion Ostapenko.
There’s also a wildcard appearance from former WTA number two Paula Badosa at the Linz Open, which comprises a 28-player draw.
But many eyes will be firmly focused on debutant Eala, who constantly attracts huge attention at every tournament she plays in.
She should be feeling both fresh and motivated for Linz, having just spent time training at the Rafa Nadal Academy, where she linked up with fellow superstar Iga Swiatek.
The WTA 500 event is immediately followed in the calendar by another in Stuttgart, with the 10-event swing concluding with the French Open.
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