Alex Eala made the best possible start to her grass-court season, emerging victorious at the WTA 125 Birmingham.
Eala entered the tournament after a first round exit at Roland Garros, but she didn’t let that interrupt her fantastic progress.
The Filipina superstar went all the way at the Birmingham Open, and has since risen four places in the WTA rankings to 33rd.
The trophy represents her first grass-court title, but importantly she is not letting the success distract her as Wimbledon approaches, which is a very smart approach.
Alexandra Eala will finish 2026 ranked — in the world
Fill in the blanks!
Alex Eala adopts very smart approach after first grass title
Sharing insight into her current mindset, Eala told Tennis Channel: “Of course winning Birmingham last week was a very proud moment in my career, and it does give me a lot of confidence, and it’s left me with good feelings on court.
“But I am aware that everyone is out to compete, especially here in Queen’s, everyone’s preparing for Wimbledon, so it’s really cutthroat.
“More than anything, it motivates me and keeps me focused.”
Aged just 21, the Filipina is showing maturity beyond her years, with her attitude certain to help her enjoy further success on grass in 2026.
In her five-match winning run in Birmingham, she beat Priscilla Hon, Alina Charaeva, Mananchaya Sawangkaew, Rebeka Masarova and Nikola Bartunkova.
Alex Eala suffers early Queen’s loss to Iva Jovic
Eala has since turned her focus to a much higher level, with the WTA ace quickly moving on to Queen’s after Birmingham.
And she immediately hit the ground running at the WTA 500 tournament, defeating Zhang Shuai 6-3, 6-2 in her opening match.
But that is as far as she went in the competition, with Eala falling to her close friend Iva Jovic in the second round.
American star Jovic, who also knocked the Filipina out of the French Open, won their Queen’s clash 6-2, 6-2 after one hour and 16 minutes.
But thanks to her positive attitude and time to become a better player, the defeat is likely to do little to knock the confidence of Eala, who was fully aware of how tough the tournament would be.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
