Former major winner retires due to injury against Alexandra Eala one week before Wimbledon

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Alexandra Eala continues to impress in 2025 as she now prepares for her first grass-court quarterfinal.

The Filipino star stole all the headlines at the Miami Open in March, when she made a sensational run to the last four in Florida.

Beating two Grand Slam winners in her opening three matches, Eala took down Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals to reach the semis, where she fell to home-favorite Jessica Pegula.

An underwhelming clay-court season followed, before Eala made a successful transition to the grass.

The 20-year-old reached the quarterfinals of the WTA 125 event in Ilkley and made her way through qualifying at the Nottingham Open.

Doing the same at the Eastbourne International, Eala dominated Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti 6-0, 6-1, to book her place in round two.

There, she was the beneficiary of a retirement from a former Major champion, whose participation at Wimbledon now looks to be in jeopardy.

Jelena Ostapenko retires with an injury against Alexandra Eala in Eastbourne

Eala was in trouble during the early stages of her second-round match in Eastbourne, as she trailed Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko 0-6.

Battling back, Eala took the second 6-2, before edging into a 3-2 lead in the deciding third set.

Suffering an injury, Ostapenko retired from the match after just five games in the third set and could be seen limping off the court.

The 2017 French Open champion now faces a race against time, with Wimbledon scheduled to begin just five days from now.

Ostapenko’s loss is Eala’s gain, however, as the youngster now prepares to compete in her first WTA Tour grass-court quarterfinal.

The world number 74 will return to take on either Dayana Yastremska or Francesca Jones on Thursday, June 26.

Jelena Ostapenko may miss out on her most successful Grand Slam event

In 2017, Ostapenko became the youngest woman to win the French Open title in 20 years when she beat Romania’s Simona Halep in the final.

Many questioned whether the Latvian would be able to maintain that form on grass, questions she answered a month later when she reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.

A semi-final appearance at SW19 followed in 2018, before Ostapenko endured a four-year dry spell at Grand Slam events, failing to make a quarterfinal appearance at any of her next 14 tournaments.

Returning to form in 2023, Ostapenko has since qualified for three major quarterfinals (2023 Australian Open, 2023 US Open, 2024 Wimbledon).

Having enjoyed relative success at all four Grand Slam events, it’s clear that Ostapenko has played her best tennis at one tournament in particular.

Despite winning her sole Grand Slam title at the French Open, Ostapenko has a far better record at the All England Club.

Currently ranked 20th in the world, if Ostapenko is fit in time for Wimbledon, she will enter the tournament with a seed beside her name.

No player will want to see the Latvian in their draw, as she has made a real habit of causing upsets over recent years.

Ostapenko has already scored four wins over top-ten players in 2025, and you would be brave to bet against her adding to that tally at Wimbledon.

She was mightily impressive on the grass last year, where she reached the quarterfinals, setting up an intriguing clash with Czechia’s Barbora Krejcikova.

• 2024 Wimbledon 1R – Jelena Ostapenko beat Ajla Tomljanovic, 6-1, 6-2
• 2024 Wimbledon 2R – Jelena Ostapenko beat Daria Snigur, 6-3, 6-0
• 2024 Wimbledon 3R – Jelena Ostapenko beat Bernada Pera, 6-1, 6-3
• 2024 Wimbledon 4R – Jelena Ostapenko beat Yulia Putintseva, 6-2, 6-3

In a battle between two former French Open champions, it was Krejcikova who prevailed, winning in two tight sets 6-4, 7-6.

The Czech star continued on to win her first Wimbledon title in 2024, defeating Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in the final.

Falling to the eventual champion, Ostapenko was able to take a lot of confidence from her run at SW19 12 months ago.

If she can heal up in time for Wimbledon, there’s no saying how far Ostapenko could go on the grass this time around.

The 2025 Wimbledon tournament is scheduled to begin on Monday, June 30.