Alex Eala successfully moved on to the 2nd Round of Qualifiers in Eastbourne Open as she defeated No. 82 Zeynep Sonmez in their match last night, June 21.
Mastery in Grass Court for Eala
The pride of the Philippines, Alex Eala, continued her strong grass-court preparation for Wimbledon by making a dominant start in the qualifiers.
The ranked no. 77 came out aggressive, breaking Sonmez early in the second game. Sonmez managed to level at 1-1 but failed to win another game in the opening set, which Eala closed in just 30 minutes.
Final Score of Set 1: 6-1
In the second set, the 20 year old tennis legend from the Philippines broke serve again right away and went up 2-0. Although the 23 year old from Turkey attempted a comeback by narrowing the gap to 4-3, Eala held firm, winning the next two games to seal the match. She finished the encounter with no double faults and consistently controlled the rallies, breaking her opponent a total of eight times.
Final Score of Set 2: 6-3
A Shared History of Wins and Losses
The Filipina star, faced a familiar opponent and former doubles partner, showed her maturity and composure on court. Eala and Sonmez had previously teamed up in doubles at the 2024 1st Empire Women’s Indoor in Slovakia and the 2023 ITF Kyotec Open in Luxembourg, reaching the semifinals of both tournaments. They also met in singles during the 2023 W60 Nantes in France, where Eala won in straight sets.
Up Next: Round 2 Qualifies Against Hailey Baptiste
This win marked Eala’s second career victory over Sonmez, improving her head-to-head record to 2-0.
She now moves one step closer to qualifying for the Eastbourne main draw and is set to face top seed Hailey Baptiste from the United States of America in the second and final round of qualifying.
Baptiste, ranked No. 56 in the world, recently had a breakthrough at the French Open, reaching the fourth round after notching impressive wins over the likes of Beatriz Haddad Maia and Nao Hibino. She advanced to the second round of Eastbourne qualifying with a 7-5, 6-3 win against Yue Yuan.
Eala’s next match is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. Sunday, June 22 (Philippine time).
A win against Baptiste would secure her spot in the main draw of the WTA 250 event held on the grass courts of the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club — her final tune-up before Wimbledon begins on June 30.
