Alexandra Eala rebounds from French Open disappointment, reaches semi-finals of Birmingham Open
WTASaturday, 06 June 2026 at 09:26
While the clay court season finishes today on the women's side, the first action of the year in the grass court season is well underway and into the semi-finals as the Birmingham Open takes place this week. Alexandra Eala will play in the semi-finals today.
Eala lost early to her close friend Iva Jovic in a tough opening round draw at the French Open. But the Filipino ace managed to regroup and decided instead to head straight to the UK and enter into lower level tournaments in order to try and get ready for Wimbledon.
A lot of the build-up to her match with Jovic was in fact dominated by the friendship element. The American 18-year-old who is now a top 16 player was one of a few who gave Eala a cake on court also including Eva Lys and Zeynep Sonmez who have all become great friends.
As well as Victoria Mboko who was still in Strasbourg playing but it saw them have to put friendship aside and against a player in Jovic who continues to thrive, it is not exactly easy but wins are the best medicine and she managed to get those this week. She secured her spot after seeing off Thailand's Mananchaya Sawangkaew on Friday 6-3, 6-2. She also plays Queen's next week.
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She won the opening set easily in 48 minutes and in the second, she broke for a 4-2 lead closing out the match in two more games to end the set and the match at 6-2. Sawangkaew won their first meeting in a three-set clash back during the quarter-finals of the 2024 Takasaki Open. Eala of course has come a long way since.
"I ended the match feeling great, better than I started. Conditions were difficult today; it was cold and windy, so I'm happy with how I pulled through," Eala said afterwards. "I did a great job with my intensity and didn't have many dips. I tried to control the things that were in my control."
Alexandra Eala against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova the Mutua Madrid Open Day 3
"The crowd is delightful, the club is very pretty, and it's fun to be out there on center court."
Next up, she faces Rebeka Masarova for a spot in the final which she admits in her mind is a tough test. "It will be a tough match. She is very skillful and very powerful, so I'll do my best to recover tonight and give my all tomorrow," said Eala.
The other semi-finals see Nikola Bartunkova face Ashlyn Krueger. Ajla Tomljanovic, Queen's champion Tatjana Maria, Janice Tjen among others were involved this week but it will be a favourite of Eala v Krueger potentially to meet in that final and now Eala will look to bring confidence into her grass court run.
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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