By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala hopes to carry the momentum from her historic runner-up finish at the Lexus Eastbourne Open as she kicks off her campaign at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships on Tuesday, July 1.
This marks her second main draw appearance at a Grand Slam following her debut at last May’s French Open where she exited in the opening round.
Her resolve, however, will be tested early as she faces a tough first-round matchup against defending champion Barbora Krejcikova, a two-time Grand Slam winner and former world No. 1 in women’s doubles.
While Krejcikova’s credentials are impressive, concerns about her recent health linger.
She withdrew from both her singles and doubles quarterfinal matches at the Lexus Eastbourne Open—where Eala made her first Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour final—due to a right thigh injury.
Krejcikova also suffered a Round of 32 exit at the HSBC Championships, her first grass-court tournament of the season, after a straight-sets loss to Rebeca Sramkova.
Since her Wimbledon triumph over Jasmine Paolini last year, the 29-year-old Czech has yet to add another title to her name.
Still, her experience cannot be underestimated. Despite her recent setbacks, Krejcikova has shown no signs of pressure in defending her title.
In a recent interview, she acknowledged the challenge, saying it’s “tough and complicated, but not at all difficult.”
Eala, for her part, is looking to build on her breakthrough performance in Eastbourne. Krejcikova isn’t the first Grand Slam champion she’ll face—she previously stunned the likes of Iga Swiatek, Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys at the Miami Open last March.
Now ranked a career-high No. 56 in the WTA singles rankings, Eala meets Krejcikova for the first time on the tour. Both are in the tournament’s lower half, which also includes seventh seed Mirra Andreeva, 10th seed Emma Navarro, third seed Jessica Pegula, second seed Coco Gauff, and top seed Swiatek.
If Eala gets past Krejcikova, she will face the winner of the match between American Caroline Dolehide and Dutch player Arantxa Rus.
Bu onne match at a time, though.
