Alexandra Eala's grass court game assessed ahead of Berlin Ladies Open semi-final

What a week it has been for Alexandra Eala. Her grass prowess has been showcased once more on the big stage after taking down two top-10 opponents and the reigning Queen's Club Championships winner in the Berlin Ladies Open enroute to the final.

Her ability on grass has been showcased before. Last year, she missed four match points for a first WTA title in the Eastbourne Open, cruelly losing out to Maya Joint in a dramatic final. She has since bounced back this year, winning the WTA 125 event in Birmingham before having her Queen's tournament cut short by Iva Jovic early on.

She has not let that get in her way, storming through a stacked field in Berlin. Donna Vekic was first taken down in straight sets before the Filippino stunned former Wimbledon champion and world number two Elena Rybakina in a huge upset. She continued this form against Elina Svitolina, securing a sixth top 10 win, a fourth in 2026, and a spot in the semi-final of the WTA 500 tournament.

She has another tough test waiting for her in the form of Linda Noskova. However, brimming with confidence, Eala will be confident for another positive result.

Two-time Grand Slam champion Tracy Austin analysed her game on grass on the Tennis Channel, pinpointing which areas give her a boost on this surface and why she can play so well on it.

“She gets down so well, so that’s a huge asset, so you can adjust to poor bounces," she assessed. "It’s pretty flat so the ball moves through the court. Also, her serve has a lefty slice on it. So the leftiness is an advantage with the slice; it’s really helpful to keep that ball skidding and staying low.

“Her return position, because Eala has such good timing, short take-backs, which is important. Great hand-eye coordination.”

Following the win, Austin added even more evidence to her scintillating form on grass. “She started out extremely well today, just mixing the ball up, the power close to the sidelines, tremendous depth, mixing in the drop shots as well.

“This is what she did against Rybakina, and she continued today, went so early on the return of Svitolina, really attacking the second serve of Svitolina. Svitolina was down a set and two love, looked like she was starting to make some headway. But then Eala picked it back up. Hitting with authority. Plenty of time to move forward, and she looked comfortable up there.”

Eala will follow this tournament by featuring in the Bad Homburg Open next week. Elise Mertens will be her first test in the competition also taking place in Germany. She will then make a return to Wimbledon after debuting in it last year. She had the honour of competing on Centre Court against the reigning champion Barbora Krejcikova, coming up short. With just one Grand Slam win coming at the 2025 US Open, Eala will be hopeful that her grass form can continue to SW19 with her a possible outside threat of a deep run.