Alexandra Eala changes tact after Madrid Open exit, withdraws from planned WTA 125
WTAMonday, 27 April 2026 at 22:30
Alexandra Eala will not play this week after all after she withdrew from the WTA 125 Catalonia Open prior to the draw being released with a minor injury cited behind her decision not to play.
Eala suffered a one-sided defeat to Elise Mertens in the second round at the WTA 1000 tournament on Friday. This after she took down Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the World No.116 and former French Open runner-up in the first round.
It was an impressive win at times from Eala who was playing on the Arantxa Sanchez Vicario stadium as one of the headline acts but it seemed to unravel when she played against Mertens and she has now decided to head to Rome.
Eala was due to compete at the Catalonia Open, a WTA 125 Challenger tournament in La Bisbal d'Emporda which began today. However she pulled out on the opening day. Her place in the main draw has been taken by Varvara Lepchenko.
She would've been the no.3 seed in the draw with Xinyu Wang and Peyton Stearns ahead of her in the pecking order. For reference Eala is currently World No.44.
Greg Rusedski said earlier in the week that she needs to figure it out and will do amid early losses that perhaps will dent her confidence. Eala has quickly established quite an ardent fanbase but the issue of course as a result is that expectations fly through the roof perhaps a bit too quickly.
“It’s the harder hitters. It’s being on tour week in and week out. And you’re going to take some bruising losses,” said Rusedski.
“If you look at the one she lost the week previous in Stuttgart to Leylah Fernandez… I mean, she (Fernandez) pushed Rybakina all the way.
“So, the losses she (Eala) takes are not bad losses, it’s sometimes the scorelines. And this is part of the learning experience.
“She’s too good a player, she’ll figure it out. And what I like is her resilience.
“And if you’re a fan out there, just be a little patient. It might take a little bit longer for her, but she’s got a great team of people around her. And she’s got to find solutions. So don’t get too discouraged.”
Alex Eala was in the players list for Catalonia but she's not in the draw, not in the withdrawals either. Seems she'll head straight to Rome. pic.twitter.com/OFEwpCsdqf
— Zoul R. Word (@zoulfrae) April 26, 2026
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