By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
For a change, Alex Eala won’t be meeting a Top 10 player right away after being seeded at the 2026 Wimbledon Championships slated June 29 to July 12 – thanks to her impressive showing in the past two tournaments.
For her recent successes, the 21-year-old Eala has been seeded No. 29 in in the Grand Slam event, underscoring rising star status. That would also make her the first Filipina to be accorded such honor.
Eala’s breakthrough came on the heels of her semifinal run at the Berlin Open last week, a performance that propelled her five spots to No. 30 in the latest WTA rankings.
She has been making big strides on the grass court, having won the Birmingham Open title – her second WTA singles crown – just two weeks ago.
With her Wimbledon seeding, Eala is expected to draw unseeded players or qualifiers on her first two rounds — offering some protection from an early showdown against heavyweight opponents.
However, she could still face dangerous unseeded veterans like former champions Barobora Krejcikova or Jelena Ostapenko depending on results of the draw.
While Wimbledon is just around the corner, Eala is laser-focused on her ongoing campaign at the Bad Homburg in Germany where she is playing seasoned player Elise Mertens in the opening round at press time.
This marks the third time that Eala and Mertens are facing each other, with the 30-year-old Belgian winning their first two meetings — at the 2023 Monastir ITF event in Tunisia and the Mutua Madrid Open last April.
Eala also expressed excitement for highly-anticipated doubles partnership with icon Venus Williams. They duo will face Alexandra Osborne and Catherine Harrison in the opening round.
