“We actually had a great time”: Eva Lys remarks on close bond with Eala, Jovic and Sonmez

Eva Lys spoke about friendship among rivals on the WTA Tour during her campaign at Roland Garros, after sharing some photos from the celebration of her colleague Alexandra Eala’s birthday – together with other recognized names from the Tour such as Iva Jovic and Zeynep Sonmez.

The German player has shown a good relationship with several of her colleagues and has built friendships with those who can become her rivals during any week of competition. Lys has built a solid fan base on her social media, where she not only shows her steps through the Tour, but has also shared photos and videos with various other tennis players on the Tour, such as Marta Kostyuk or Coco Gauff.

“I think that's definitely not just for social media. We actually had a great time, and we're also almost in contact every day, sending each other memes, just laughing about everything that's happening on tour,” she said regarding the celebration of Eala’s 21st birthday. “I feel like it's very, very refreshing, not only for us but for everyone else.”

The world No. 81, meanwhile, started her Roland Garros campaign on the right foot, making her debut with a win against Petra Marcinko by an impressive 6-3, 6-0 in the first round.

The 24-year-old player has not had a strong 2026 – marked by injuries that kept her out for a couple of months after the Australian Open. This season she has only a 4-8 record, although the victory against Marcinko shows that Lys is starting to find her winning path again.

“I've been working a lot the past months to just get my fitness back,” the former world No. 39 added during her interview with Tennis Channel. “I feel like without my fitness, my game is not there, so having a little breakthrough last week, feeling a little bit more confident, and you could see that a little bit in my match.”

Lys has shown that she has a different approach to her career on the Tour – at least when it comes to rivals. While other players have mentioned that it is practically impossible to make friends on the Tour with those who are their rivals, Lys has shown that it is possible to maintain a competitive spirit among friends.

“I know there's a big topic around friendships not being possible,” she said. “Listen, there are so many people that maybe cannot do it, and they don't, which is also great. I feel like everyone should do whatever they feel good with.”

“And if they're like, ‘Hey, if I'm getting too close to someone and I play with them, I'm not going to play my best,’ then don't do it. But I feel like for us it's not a secret that we're competitors. It's not a secret that whenever I go out and play Alex (Eala) or Iva (Jovic) or Zeynep (Sonmez), I want to win, they want to win.”

“And I don't know if something private I shared at a dinner is making them play better against me. Well, then I got to step up my game.”

The German player has gained a significant number of fans through social media and has also added several major sponsors over the last year. Associated with Lacoste, Porsche and Westwing among others, the player herself admits that maintaining authenticity in what she shows on social media is vital for her.

“I think the nice thing is everyone's asking me if I'm doing my social media alone, and my answer is always yes. I don't know how long I'll be able to keep it up, but everything you see on there is made by me, which is nice.”

“That's one thing I'm always telling my team, my management, and all the brands I work with. I want to be Eva. I want to be as authentic. If that doesn't fit them, then I'm not sure if I want to be working with them. It's the nicest thing ever to have people around me that encourage me to be myself.”

Lys will return to action on Wednesday, May 27, in a tough match against 18th seed Sorana Cirstea – who is in the final year of her career and is positioned at her best ranking as world No. 17. The German has played nine matches against top-20 opponents in the last year, winning only one of them: against Elena Rybakina in Beijing 2025. This time against Cirstea she will need to raise her level to stay competitive and reach the third round of Roland Garros for the first time.