By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala faces an early uphill battle at the Berlin Open 2026 after landing in the lower half of a stacked field that could set up a second-round showdown with world No. 2 and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
For that to happen, though, the 21-year-old Filipina ace must first get past a tough opening-round test in Donna Vekic, who is playing against Emma Raducanu in the final of the HSBC Championships at presstime.
Eala also competed at Queen’s Club, but crashed out in the second round after losing to sixth seed Iva Jovic in straight sets.
Vekic, 29, is no stranger to Eala. The two faced each other last January at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand where the world No.33 Filipina prevailed in three sets in the Round of 32.
Eala hopes to rediscover her best form after a demanding two-week stretch on the tour, drawing confidence from her title-winning run at the Birmingham Classic last week — her second WTA singles crown.
But Vekic, currently ranked No. 76, has been in solid form over the past two months, with the 29-year-old Croatian reaching the semifinal at the Linz Open and advanced to the final in the WTA 125 Istanbul during the latter stages of the clay court swing before carrying that momentum at the start of the grass season.
She also boasts a wide experience in the Grand Slams, making into the semifinal of the 2024 Wimbledon and the quarterfinal of the 2023 Australian Open and 2019 US Open.
She was also a silver medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
